


if you remember, if you remember (who they are)

by EmotionalSupportPuma



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, But just know she is and i adore her, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Not Really Character Death, Spoilers, also Fiona is trans which doesnt have anything to do with the plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 23:46:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21328678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmotionalSupportPuma/pseuds/EmotionalSupportPuma
Summary: 5 times Fiona and Maya should have said "I love you" and the 1 time they actually did.akaA NaNoWriMo project detailing Fiona/Maya's relationship from the end of TFTBL through the events of BL3!
Relationships: Fiona/Maya (Borderlands)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 17





	1. The hunt is on, everyone's chasing

The months that petered by after that rather embarrassing first meeting were…well, they were a lot more bearable then Fiona would have guessed they would be.

It wasn't the last job she ended up taking alongside Maya. Maybe it was the last one that they went on by themselves, but there wasn't any tension between them. Fiona was beyond embarrassed speaking to Maya for the first time after they kissed. They weren't shocking emotions for her to have, yet scarcely a week had passed before there was a ping on her echo from a familiar face.  _ Hey, you up for stompin another bandit den? _ It had said, accompanied by a picture. The picture was of a piece of old Wanted poster scribbled over with some details of where to go, held by a slim hand decorated with blue tattoos.

The jobs only snowballed from that point. It turns out that the vast majority of vault hunting, when you weren't actively being chased into a vault itself, was really just doing odd jobs for anyone and everyone. That in itself would have been sorely disappointing, if not for the company she got to keep while on said jobs. 

Once Maya had put the good word in about her, along with whatever Zer0 had said before that, Fiona had  _ really _ become one of them. Names and faces that she'd only ever seen in poorly sketched posters began to seek her out when they needed an extra hand. That next job with Maya had allowed her to meet some of the Siren's own crew, Krieg and Gaige. She found that she liked them quite well, even impressing them when Fiona really managed to talk with Krieg. Speaking psycho had never been such a nice conversational piece before.

Sure, there were a few people here and there that Fiona was on the fence about, but even they were growing on her. Seeing Mordecai and Brick again was enough to raise her hackles by itself. Meeting Lilith? Well, that day had certainly been a tense one to put it lightly. Fiona had been ready to bite their heads off, and her snark should have been enough to get her in trouble, but if anything the three of them almost seemed impressed. It had been months since the debacle with Athena and they barely seemed to recall it. She wasn't so keen to let bygones be bygones, but the other vault hunters were...sort of charming. 

Maybe it was the fact that they all had such personality, or maybe fighting bad guys alongside someone drew you closer. Either way, Fiona found herself quite suddenly overflowing with people that would probably consider her a friend. It was a very odd feeling. After another few months of rolling the thought over in her mind, she realized that while it was odd, the feeling wasn't unwelcome. The other vault hunters weren't Sasha and they never would be quite so close to her, but they were  _ close _ nonetheless. 

"Hellooo." A hand shook in front of Fiona's face, "Is anybody home?"

"Huh?" She blinked her way back to the present and swatted the hand away.

Gaige was grinning toothily just to her right and she knew that smirk screamed of nothing but mischief by this point. Daydreaming around someone like the extroverted redhead was a sign of weakness. The words weren't even out of Gaige's mouth before Fiona began to sorely regret ever agreeing to pick up the slack on this mission. 

"I know a  _ certain someone _ isn't here, but can you focus? We've got a job to do."

Embarrassment trickled along her scalp and cheeks, but Fiona only offered up an exaggerated frown in response. The mechromancer was incredibly skilled for someone her age and normally that was a good thing when it came to working with her. Unfortunately, Gaige's age compared to the others meant a surprising amount of immaturity and the uncanny ability to pick up on something you didn't want to be teased about, no matter how subtle you thought you were being. The "you" in this scenario being Fiona and the "something" being her crush on Maya. 

_ God, we've gotta stop calling it a crush, that sort of language only eggs Gaige on,  _ she growled internally. Actually, just referring to her own inner thoughts as ' _ we _ ' would be enough to egg the mechromancer on if she knew.

"I  _ am _ focused."

"Sure, sure. What did I just say?"

Fiona flashed a shit-eating smile, "Sure, sure."

" _ You _ \- that's not what I meant." Gaige shook her head, trying to hide the fact that she was clearly impressed with the sarcastic reply, "Okay, fine, you're off the hook. But  _ only  _ because you're funny."

The final bit was punctuated by a wagging finger that Fiona had the urge to swat once again. She didn't, self control was something she had been working on lately. Athena had pointed out that her greatest strength was her mind and its ability to plan ahead, which was something her impulsive tendencies contradicted. Fiona was prone to overthinking  _ and _ being headstrong at the same time funnily enough. So, she was taking measures to teach herself how not to be even in the little ways. It was...still a work in progress.

As silent as ever, a familiar black suited shape seemed to materialize from nowhere, stepping into view suddenly. Fiona startled slightly, but Gaige didn't even blink. With a single finger lifted to their face Zer0 motioned for them both to follow.  _ Shit, maybe I should have let Gaige go ahead and fill me in on what I missed,  _ Fiona cursed under her breath and fell into the back of the line. 

This hadn't been her mission to go on in the first place. It had been a few minutes past two p.m. when Fiona had received the echo from another vault hunter, by the name of Axton if she remembered correctly, asking for a quick fill-in. She hadn't been given many details other than where to meet the others and what kind of resistance to expect. These consisted of "roughly between the Dust and Lynchwood" and "some bandit chief getting too big for his britches". Which Fiona took as a warning that she should come prepared to defend herself if things got...ugly.

" _ Gaige, Axton, take point / Draw their attention/ let us snipers work." _

Gaige and Axton take the brunt of the fire, while Zer0 and Mordecai pick people off. That left just Fiona without instructions, "Where do you need me?"

"You get the fun job." Mordecai's voice still put her on edge, but she fought it down with an internal reminder that the others trusted him and so should she, "You're gonna try talking this douche down first."

She recoiled in surprise at the words, dread beginning to coil low in her belly. Had they changed up whatever their original plan had been just to match Fiona's strengths? It was as flattering a thought as it was anxiety-inducing. That meant she was going in, most likely with Gaige and Axton close behind, to be right in the thick of things.  _ Fucking shit, of all the jobs to help with it had to be one like this. Let's send Fiona the rookiest vault hunter to stand in the middle of a bunch of bandi- _

It took a deep breath and several seconds of internal counting to get a handle on the nerves again. Surviving a childhood on Pandora meant knowing how to pick and choose your battles. Most of the time if Fiona couldn't see an easy win in the situation, she bailed quicker than a rakk dove after an unprotected skag pup. Some might view it as cowardly, but she knew it was because of that sort of instinct that Sasha and her had even lived to see adulthood. But things were different now that she was a real vault hunter. They didn't run from things like this, no matter what instincts howled along in their heads.

"Okay," The word tasted like ash on her tongue, "What sort of angle should I work?"

Her serious question was only answered with blank stares.  _ Great.  _ The rest of them were the type to shoot first and ask questions later when it came to situations involving bandit assholes. Of course, none of them had a clue what it took to be good with words like she needed to be in just a few minutes, they hadn't the slightest idea what it took to work a successful con.  _ The biggest con of my life has been convincing these badasses that I'm one of them, imagine that. _

Fiona fought off a sigh, "Nevermind, I'll come up with something as we go."

"Dude goes by a few different names, if that helps. 

"Are you going to tell me any of those names?"

"I heard someone call him 'the Shiv-er'...or the Shiver. Kinda hard to tell the inflection when you're eavesdropping."

_ So, watch out for a hidden knife...or maybe a cryo weapon,  _ her mind was already trying to piece together a plan of action.

The place was a pit stop turned bandit den turned...slightly bigger pit stop. It was obvious that not long ago the people who were staying here were far less welcoming, hell, the majority of places that weren't towns were too dangerous to walk right up to. Something or someone in this place was making an effort to create a moderately civil atmosphere. Which meant that while she might be watched closely the entire time, Fiona could essentially walk in and find her way to the...leader? Yeah, leader sounded like the correct word for this man. He certainly wasn't a mayor or commander, or anything of that sort.

She could do this.

___

"Yer looking for a what?"

Fiona wiped a palm over her face in frustration, "The  _ shi _ \- fuck it. The man in charge of this place, where is he?"

The group of three bandits playing cards continued to stare at her, with confusion so palpable that the word was nearly lit up above their heads. After a couple seconds they all turned back to the game and promptly forgot about Fiona.  _ Typical _ . She needed something more than asking directions if she wanted their undivided attention. On to plan B.

"I need to speak to whoever is in charge here, it's important. There are vault hunters with their sights on this place."

That had the desired response. Two of the three whipped their heads up to face her again, while the third tossed his cards aside and promptly disappeared into the nearest port-a-potty. Not what she expected, but at least he wasn't sending up an alarm. Fiona could work with that.

"Yeah, I overheard some people talking about it on my way here they're after the-" 

One of the bandits cut her off, "The mixture!"

The _ mixture?  _ Her fellow vault hunters needed to clean their ears out. 

Before she could ask what that meant, one of the bandits grabbed her by the shoulders and began ushering her down the street. It startled her, but there wasn't anything about their body language that relayed anger or violence. If anything they seemed a little frantic, worried. Fiona held off from signaling to the others to begin fighting. Even if her own body was stiff with distrust. 

They led her to a building that was in remarkably good condition compared to the rest of the ramshackle street. After knocking haphazardly for a few moments, the bandit not holding her barged in and started talking in a loud panic. Fiona was shoved inside before she could protest. Inside the revoltingly overwhelming smell of something rotten hit her in a wave, it took a great deal of effort not to puke the second it hit her nose. 

The stench was oozing out of a large...cauldron? Something of that sort. A spindly, stick-of-a-person stood over it, a stereotypical psycho mask covering their face. Once the bandits relayed their message, the person waved them out. Just them and Fiona.  _ I swear, if this person throws me in that pot I'm going to haunt the fuck out of the others for leaving me to do this alone. _

"So, uh, nice weather we've been having, am I right?"

Their reply was far too muffled for Fiona to understand. Confusion must have shown on her face, because after a moment they pushed the mask up. Dark hair sent dandruff and who-knows-what else raining down over their face with the motion. 

"Are you just here to exchange pleasantries, or were those two blubbering idiots right about there being Vault Hunters on the way?"

Right down to business it was, "Yep. Overheard them down the road," Fiona paused to point over her shoulder awkwardly, "that way. Said they were looking for your "mixture" or whatever."

"Damn, I knew it was only a matter of time." They muttered, wiping their hands with a rag that looked like it would only make anything it touched dirtier.

Fiona followed the movements carefully. There hadn't been any sign that this person was suspicious of her, but she wouldn't be able to get back outside to signal the other Vault Hunters just yet. She needed an excuse to leave. Fate wasn't about to let her be so easily, however, and the person suddenly fixed their attention on her once more. 

"Why'd ya come give us a warning?" They asked, green eyes as sharp as broken glass.

Fiona did her best to shrug nonchalantly, "Nobody likes a Vault Hunter, eh? A greedy buncha thieves."

"More like scavengers." They broke off with a bark of laughter, "They come in and take all the things we work hard to get ourselves."

Hopefully her own laughter didn't sound as forced as it felt to her own ears. The lowlifes of Pandora held no love for Vault Hunters, unless it was to save their own skin, and she doubted this person would think twice about ending her if Fiona slipped up. She couldn't see any weapons in the immediate vicinity, but then again, her own pistol was safely hidden up her sleeve. Nobody on Pandora walked around without  _ something _ to defend themselves. Before she could think of anything else to add, they spoke up again.

"I'll give them credit, though, they sure do make it easy to whip up a cult." An unpleasant sliver of foreboding twisted in Fiona's gut at the words, "Convincing these screaming, meat-obsessed idiots that I had a drink that could make them invulnerable to bullets was simple as pie when you tack on the words "then those Vault Hunters can't do jackshit to ya anymore!". They're too stupid to realize it's just regular shit dumped in water."

"Uh...you just tell anyone who walks in your master plan?" She raised her eyebrows, startled by the easy admission.

"Go ahead, go out there and tell them all about how I'm a fraud. They haven't got the brains to think critically about anything. I've whipped them up already, they'll die for this fake mixture before they ever believe the word of some random person who tries to say otherwise."

Screams pierced the air outside, saving Fiona from her floundering to reply. Both of them whipped around to face the window. People ran by, brandishing weapons and hollering like their asses were on fire. Knowing Gaige's affinity for chaos, it wouldn't have surprised her. 

In an instant Fiona and this...this cult leader locked eyes. This was her opening to regroup, as they darted back across the room. Sure, the entire point of the mission was to get rid of this figurehead, but really Fiona wasn't the best shot in the world. She did her part in attempting to talk to them, the other Vault Hunters could finish the rest. Picking people off as she crept around the edge of the battle seemed like the far safer option. 

Ducking out the door, she nearly jumped out of her skin as a bullet whistled by her ear. It lodged in the wall to her left and Fiona bolted for an alleyway without sparing it a second glance. She could see Gaige and Axton on the far side of the pit stop, Axton's turret firing away dutifully while Deathtrap tossed various bandits right into the line of fire. The two of them dispersed chaos with the smooth grace of people who had fought alongside each other countless times. It was almost impressive the way that they functioned like two extensions of the same body. You could have pulled her, Rhys, Vaughn, and Sasha together every day for a year to practice and they still wouldn't be half as efficient.

Distraction in the middle of a fight came with a price, however. A solid mass came crashing in Fiona's direction. She attempted to throw herself backwards as soon as the bandit appeared in her peripheral vision, but to no avail. A mind that could work it's way around a puzzle with ease was useless if the body it piloted couldn't keep up. The dusty ground provided little traction and the bandit slammed into her with the strength of a charging skag regardless.

The two of them hit the ground with a hefty thud. Fiona felt the air stream out of her lungs upon impact, leaving her frantically struggling to breathe. Her assailant rolled off and sprung to his feet. After an agonizing few seconds she finally managed to suck in a breath and began coughing violently. 

With a scream of rage, the bandit grabbed a nearby sheet of metal and lifted it above his head. She grabbed a hasty couple breaths in preparation and rolled to her left just as he brought a sharpened corner of it down at her face. Her entire body protested at the effort. The next swing brought the metal down at a more favorable angle, allowing Fiona to throw her hands out to stop it. 

The metal cut into the palms of her hands, little more than an uncomfortable stinging sensation with her adrenaline pumping like it was. Even with the sight of thin trickles of blood beginning to run down her arm. Fiona shifted her weight and braced her arms, allowing the bandit to push further before aiming a savage kick. Instantly he dropped the sheet of metal and crumpled to the ground. She struggled to her feet, careful not to press the fresh cuts on her palms into the dirty ground. 

Fiona lunged forward with another kick, unable to hide the satisfied grin as she heard the bandits nose crunch beneath her boot. The man didn't get back up. She moved to the end of the alleyway, wiping the blood from her hands onto her pants as she did. The blood could be washed out later, but having slippery hands wasn't a good idea in a fight. 

She only managed to look out into the fray again for a few moments, taking in the sight of Zer0 flitting across the road to help Axton out of a tough situation, before something hard smacked into the back of her head. Fiona reached out to grab at the wall pathetically, hands failing to find a grip. Within another few seconds her vision went black.

___

It couldn't have been more than a few minutes before she startled back into consciousness. The back of her head throbbed viciously and when she tried to focus on it, there was the distinct feeling of something wet matting the short hairs there. A concussion, most likely, which would explain why the shapes in front of her were swimming no matter how many times she blinked. Plus, there was this annoying purple blur that kept appearing. 

_ Wait a minute… _

Fiona rubbed her eyes, finding it difficult suddenly to move her hands to the right spot. When she opened them again the fuzzy, bandit-shaped things were much clearer. She could almost pick out which one of them was Gaige on the far side of the pit stop. The hulking chunk of metal near her was probably Deathtrap. So, Fiona's vision was trustworthy once more  _ and  _ the purple blur was still appearing in the midst of the fighting. 

But that couldn't be correct, because the people Fiona had been working with were Gaige, Axton...Zer0 and...the guy she didn't always like. Her head continued to throb as it struggled to put two and two together. Before the thoughts could snap into place a gunshot cracked aloud to her left. The spray of blood from an unlucky soul spurted across her face and Fiona flinched, despite the discomfort that the swift reaction caused in her already sore muscles. 

It was obvious that she is in no shape for a fight. Trying to sit up and draw her pistol would only guarantee a bullet in her own skull long before Fiona could land a shot herself. With her thoughts muddled too much for serious tactical decisions, she relied on instinct and slid the rest of the way to the ground. If she was lucky, whichever enemy was nearby would assume Fiona was bleeding out on her own and wouldn't bother wasting a bullet to finish the job. 

"Hey hey, stay with me now."

The voice that drifted over her was edged with panic, despite the soft familiarity of it. Now that she was slumped on the ground it felt less like playing dead and more like Fiona really was seriously injured. It took all of her conscious effort to open her eyes and glance around in confusion. That blow to the head must have been more serious than she originally thought, if she was beginning to imagine being saved by Maya.

Except that the body leaning over her, the hands struggling to grab her shoulders and push her into a sitting position, those weren't a figment of her imagination. After another few attempts at blinking the blurry figure into something more solid, Fiona couldn't deny what she was seeing. The Siren was crouched over her, strands of blue hair falling into eyes that were rounded with concern. Somehow she found the energy to reach up and brush the hair aside. Maya broke into a relieved smile at the action, but her brows remained furrowed. 

"Oh, good you're still conscious."

"Barely." Fiona mumbled with a half-hearted grin.

She winced as Maya ran a hand over the back of her head, even the sensation of fingers barely skimming it resulted in a sharp sting. The hand came away bloody, the stark contrast of crimson alongside azure markings. Fiona felt her stomach twist uncomfortably at the sight. She wasn't one to be squeamish normally, but there was no denying that the wound was serious. 

Maya began to grumble under her breath, "I'm twenty minutes late  _ one  _ time,  _ one time _ , and they go and start without me."

"To be fair, they did get me to take your place."

"And look where that's gotten you." 

After turning Fiona's head to the side to inspect the damage, she sat back with a heavy sigh. 

"So, what's the prognosis, doc?"

Maya flashed a wry smile, "You're lucky you've got me here instead of someone like Zed or Tannis. They'd probably lop your head off and let you respawn."

Fiona pulled a face as her insides rolled at the thought. If Maya noticed, she certainly didn't understand the reason behind it.

"I don't blame you. Those New-U stations hurt like hell when they bring you back, you know?"

"Uh, not really." She admitted, the words low.

Maya tilted her head to the side, confusion lighting the features of her face. She tried to shrug and offer a sheepish smile, but the movement made her head throb again. After a moment the thoughts seemed to click into place and the Siren gaped at her. 

"Wait- are you serious? You’re not hooked up to the New-U?”

She shook her head, groaning as the motion only succeeded in scrambling her brains and making her slightly nauseous. There wasn’t an immediate response from the Siren. Instead Maya begin to quickly dig through a small satchel at her side. She pulled out a roll of bandages and after a hushed apology, began to wrap them around the wound. It took Fiona a moment to realize that the frantic movements were because of the severity of it. If Maya hadn’t come along, would that have been it for her? The thought only worsened her nausea.

“That bad, huh?” She asked.

“” _ That bad” _ ” Maya scoffed and hastily pushed the longer strands of her hair aside again, “Oh my god, Fiona you could have  _ died _ .”

“I thought that’s what Vault Hunters were good at.” 

“Yeah, because you’d be hard pressed to find a Vault Hunter who isn’t hooked up to the New-U system. How have you  _ not _ signed up?”

She knew the words would fall flat, but defensiveness curled in her throat regardless, “You should understand better than most, but we really don’t like Hyperion down here. Plus it’s expensive as fuck.”

“You opened a  _ Vault _ of all things and having the ability to cheat death is too expensive.”

“So, I take it you’d be appalled to hear I’ve only used a health pack a couple times in my life?” 

Maya sat back like she was trying to tell if Fiona was pulling her leg, “And here I thought you were an exception to the idiocy of most Pandorans.”

“Hey, we just happen to like healing the old fashioned way!”

“In a grave?”

Fiona scowled, “With a lot of spite and even more bed rest.”

She wanted to argue further on the finer points of respawning science, because really Fiona had done her research and the things had their own share of mishaps (you were as likely to spawn in still wounded as you were to simply not respawn at all, it was an imperfect solution to avoiding death), but she simply didn’t have the energy. It was a surprise that she’d been able to hold a coherent conversation at all. There was no protest as Maya pulled out a medpack and carefully stabbed the needle point into one of her veins. The change was instantaneous. Fiona could feel fluids beginning to pump back through her body, replacing the blood that had long since voided itself from the back of her head. Details of Maya’s face, so very close to her own, sharpened and lost their smudged blurriness. Shapes in the distance still danced around, but the throbbing in her head was finally settling into a dull ache.

“Fine, I have to admit that’s kinda badass,” Maya flashed that wry grin again, “But as soon as we’re done here, I’m paying to get you on the New-U system myself if I have to. Seriously, Fiona, you’re a Vault Hunter for fucks sake we can’t have you dying on us for real.”

Before she could think of a smart retort, movement flickered over Maya’s left shoulder. Someone creeping down the far side of the building, and not just any old bandit or psycho at that. It was that cult leader skulking closer with a heavy pack over their shoulder and the opposite hand starting to reach back. Fiona made a split second decision, despite her still cloudy mind, drawing her pistol with enough speed to make Maya recoil. The Siren smacked her hand down and turned to nab the person in a phaselock. She easily tossed them into the thick of the fighting to be picked off by one of the others.

“What do you think you’re doing? You have a concussion, you could have taken my head off by accident.” Maya scowled back at her.

“To save you!” She pointed a finger at the Siren, knowing the toothy grin she was giving would probably save her from any repercussions. Probably.

Maya looked like she was debating on just that and settled with kicking Fiona’s leg in response. After doing a careful check of their surroundings, she helped Fiona to her feet and shouldered the brunt of her weight. They made their way around to the front of the pit stop, where the other Vault Hunters had already swept through and left no survivors in their wake. Maya kept an eye on the fight as they did so, occasionally pausing to phaselock an enemy or two for someone to get a better shot at.

Things were beginning to die down at last, the bulk of the badasses and other difficult enemies having long since been targeted and put down. By now even Mordecai had ditched his initial perch to get a closer vantage point. Maya led them to the building he was on top of, leaving her to shelter along the wall. She had never pegged the Siren for a sniper, but it was still only a mild surprise to see her carefully picking bandits off while still keeping her own body planted between Fiona and any stray fire. If it had been under any other circumstances, and her head hadn’t been scrambled very recently, she would have considered the gesture rather romantic by Pandoran standards.

Zer0 showed up quite suddenly, flashing Maya a “:D” face before vanishing just as swiftly. The bandit they appeared beside and easily speared upon their sword was not as warmly greeted. Trying to follow their blurred dashing too much for Fiona to handle without getting nauseous again, so she settled for leaning on a dumpster to watch the last bandits find their doom. 

As the final body tumbled into the dirt, Maya relaxed enough to let her hobble away from the shelter of the building. Mordecai was the first to greet them, hopping down to give Fiona a pat on the shoulder so hardy that it nearly knocked her over. He was quick to move on and loot what spoils he could. From where she was standing, it was easy to spot Zer0 and Axton doing the same a few yards passed them.

That left one Vault Hunter unaccounted for. Fiona tried to straighten up anxiously, scanning the various bodies and piles of debris for Deathtrap. Being unable to spot the robot was probably a good sign, since Gaige rarely strayed far from her treasured creation and likely would have fallen alongside it. Movement flashed to her right, leaving Fiona to startle as her anxieties seemed to summon the redhead.

Gaige trotted up to them confidently, sporting a shiny, Maliwan gun that she definitely hadn't owned before the fighting started, "Maya! You made it after all. What took ya so long?"

"I can't believe you guys replaced me, I was like... _ mayb _ e fifteen minutes late."

"As if you haven't done the same to us." 

Maya scoffed, "That's because if you're running twenty minutes late it usually means you're going to be a few  _ hours _ late."

"Eh, same difference."

The banter broke off as Maya pulled Gaige into a half-serious noogie. She found the exchange reminded her of Sasha and the pretend arguments they often competed in. After they turned in perhaps she would call her sister, just to check in. They hadn't talked in a few days and this brush with death left Fiona feeling anxious to hear Sasha's voice. The commotion stopped suddenly as Gaige caught sight of her.

"Oh hey, is your girlfriend alright?"

In an instant all the fond feelings from moments before melted into an embarrassing sort of horror, "I'm not her girlfriend!"

"Yeah," Maya stepped in to add, "not if she doesn't want to be."

_ Wait, what? _ Fiona's train of thought stalled on the tracks, coughing up smoke into her already muddled brain. Had she imagined that? Surely that was the concussion talking and not even remotely the words that had actually fallen out of Maya's mouth. Her face flushed, nearly choking on her own tongue as she stared. Even Maya seemed to be unsure of what had been said, her own cheeks tinged pink and her eyes crinkled as she looked at Fiona. 

"Is that- are you…?" 

Gaige broke in, "Oh my god, can you two stop being such nerds? I thought  _ I _ was bad."

The awkwardness rushed back in full force as soon as she spoke, pulling Fiona out of the tiny world between just her and Maya that she had almost managed to sink into. But the feelings were out in the air now. She reached a hand out tentatively, letting Maya lace their fingers in a silent confirmation. No words needed.


	2. everyone's chasing a shot, a shot rings out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is smut about halfway through the chapter, be warned!

Fiona had never been quite so afraid in all of her life as she was the first time setting foot on Sanctuary. 

A city in the sky. She had heard talk of Sanctuary, seen its heavy bulk floating in the distance occasionally during travel across Pandora. But to someone like her, an orphan and a thief, and then a con artist, the thought of  _ actually _ visiting had always been just that. A thought. That is until Maya insisted that Fiona stay over for a night. 

So, the nerves had already been bubbling along inside her long before the two of them even fast traveled there. Such a simple concept in and of itself, but felt as though taking a step into murky water. Obscuring a depth that Fiona wasn't sure she was prepared for. Sure, there had been nights here and there that Maya had crashed in the caravan after a job that ran too long. But anything that happened in the caravan felt as fleeting as...well, the many one-night stands she'd had there. 

This could be the instance that what was going on between them shifted from a tentatively labeled relationship to something decidedly more solid. Despite all of her feelings for Maya, it left her terrified to her core. Fiona was a drifter, she always had been. It had been a part of the job when running cons and continued to be when she picked up vault hunting. While that had made the transition from one to the other rather simple, it left her with little experience in handling the static parts of life. 

"Oh, I don't like that one bit." Fiona muttered, glancing at the edge of Sanctuary.

Maya looked over her shoulder, confusion falling away into something much more smug when she caught sight of Fiona's expression. The Siren had been crouched where road met sky, an action that didn't seem to be bothering her at all and was making Fiona's stomach roll wildly. 

"Scared of heights?" 

"No." She pulled a face at Maya's loud scoff before continuing, "I just have a healthy amount of distrust for them. Especially when there's nothing in between you and a plummet to your death."

"Eh, you get used to it. I didn't like heights much when I first came to Pandora."

At last, Maya rose and padded away from the dizzying drop. The smug little smile remained in the corners of her mouth. Fiona waited until an arm slipped around her shoulders before reaching up to pull Maya down to her level, aiming to kiss the look right off. Her sense of self control was quick to abandon ship once their lips met. When the Siren pulled away after a few minutes she mourned the loss. In an instant the smirk returned, silver-blue eyes swirled with something Fiona couldn't put her finger on.

"You think too much, you know?"

Fiona rolled her eyes, "So I've been told."

"We're both on the New-U system now, so even in a worst case scenario falling over the edge wouldn't be the end of the world."

"So, the horrifying experience of plummeting to your death is just...something you're okay with?"

Maya shrugged, "It's not fun, that's for sure."

" _ You've done it before? _ "

"My friends are rowdy drunks."

It took everything in Fiona's power not to push the subject any further, incredulous as she was over the implications of that. Maya, to her credit, offered a sheepish smile and let the subject drop. No pun intended. A night of drinking and "rowdiness" with her own friends was likely to result in Vaughn on a table or without a shirt, but someone falling off a floating city? Fiona was suddenly glad that her own interactions with other Vault Hunters and drinks had been rather placid. 

Maya led her around on a haphazard tour of the city. It was only so chaotic due to the people they ran into and the people they watched stumble by, for while it was run by the good guys Sanctuary was still a part of Pandora. Weirdos were a staple of anything to do with the planet, whether they were screaming about meat on the surface or stumbling around drunk in the middle of the day while several hundred feet above it. 

"Hey, who's your lady friend?" A robot with an annoying voice spouted when they passed.

"Be polite." Maya fixed him with a firm glance.

"Alriiight. Hello there, new minion! I'm Claptrap!"

"Uh, Fiona. Nice to meet you."

It took at least fifteen minutes to extract themselves from the ensuing conversation. Being stuck in an unwanted conversation with a bot like Gortys was something Fiona was used to, but it was hard to dislike such an adorable, curious spirit. Even Loader Bot was amiable in his realism. She tried to be unbiased, but Claptrap ground on her nerves in a way usually reserved for Rhys. Maya assured her that it wasn't an uncommon feeling.

After that they circled around, skating passed Moxxi's bar, even though Fiona felt the urge to linger and spot the face she'd only ever seen on posters or the echonet. She had no such luck, unfortunately. It would remain an endeavor for another time. A quiet snicker sounded beside her, the only sign that Maya knew what was going on in her mind. Fiona responded with a playful shove, only mildly disappointed by the fact that her girlfriend barely budged. Too much muscle.

The sound of hurried footsteps put her on edge, despite the relative safety of the city, given that it wasn't easy for the average bandit to reach. Fiona had just managed to convince herself it wasn't anything to worry about when a heavy weight slammed into her back. The sheer momentum of it nearly sent her toppling over, especially once the attacker latched onto her upper body.

"MAYA!"

"Tina, be careful!" 

She thought upon hearing those words the weight on her back would drop away, but instead the tangle of arms and legs only tightened. Blonde hair, unruly and wild, appeared over her right shoulder. When the head turned to appraise Fiona the stray ends nearly poked her in the eye. She tilted her head in the opposite direction, arms tensed awkwardly as she tried to figure out what to do with them. 

"Is this her? Your  _ woooman?"  _

Maya let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes, this is my girlfriend Fiona. Please get down."

"No can do, blue. Gotta make sure you picked a good one." Tina tightened one arm around her neck and used the other to jab an accusatory finger, "You hear that? Nothin' but the best for my main gal, NOTHIN'!" 

Despite the fact that she was suddenly put on the spot by a kid (teenager? The weight was heavy enough to be one), Fiona surprised herself by quirking her lips into a smile. Nostalgia swirled somewhere deep in her chest, a sharp feeling that threatened to bring...tears, of all things, to her eyes. The scene brought a flood of memories of goofing around with Sasha when they were kids. Sash had been spunky from day one and while she gained wisdom with age, she certainly hadn't mellowed.

When Tina showed no signs of loosening her grip, Fiona gave in and looped her arms under the girl's legs. At least this way she would stop being choked if she supported the weight. This seemed to please her, the scrutinizing glare splitting into a grin instead. Maya raised her eyebrows for a moment before rolling her eyes. 

"Okay, you've met her and you're happy. All good?"

Tina nearly knocked their heads together as she tilted hers, "Nada. Where we goin'?"

" _ We're  _ touring Sanctuary.  _ You _ are going back...wherever you were before accosting my girlfriend." Maya said pointedly.

"Thought you said Moxxi's was a bad place for someone my age to hangout?" 

"I did! Fine, don't go back there, just go...bother Mordecai or Gaige or someone."

Even the bickering between Tina and Maya made her heart ache with the memories it carried. She knew the reason behind it, even if it was hard for Fiona to admit to her weakness. With the Atlas corporation budding into life once more Rhys had moved to Promethea, the tearful goodbye had been earlier that month. Sasha had opted to go with him. Their on-again off-again relationship was both a source of frustration and resignation for Fiona. As much as she disliked the idea of considering Rhys her brother-in-law one day, he had a good heart. Not that she expected Sasha to settle down, but as her older sister Fiona was prone to worrying about things like that.

Regardless, it was because of those events that she was feeling particularly soft. She shifted to get a better grip on Tina and put on her best imploring smile. Tina caught on immediately, easily switching from the argument with Maya into full-on pleading to join them for the tour. The Siren looked as though she was about ready to leave the both of them there, but relented after a last attempt at staring them down.

"Okay, I give up." Maya sighed, but there was a glimmer of amusement in them. 

"WOO, let's go go-go go gOOO!" Tina cheered.

"Why are you so excited? You've seen everything here before."

"But you lovely ladies haven't seen it the way  _ I _ do." Tina pointed off to their left before continuing, "I watched a man puke his guts out over on that corner. Like, I'm pretty sure I saw his for-realsies intestines hangin' out."

"That is absolutely disgusting. Don't make me change my mind about letting you join us."

Fiona piped in, "No, these are important landmarks to know about, My."

The Siren flashed her a look that so perfectly conveyed the thought ' _ why are you encouraging her? _ ' that Fiona almost dropped Tina in her amusement. Continuing the tour played out in much the same way, with Maya pointing out actual buildings or people, while Tina recounted anecdotes about each one. As crazy as some of the stories were, there was a part of her that relished in them. It made Sanctuary feel more like a tight-knit community than this magical floating city Fiona never expected to set foot on.

By the time they were finished, her arms were beginning to ache from the effort of holding Tina. Luckily for her they had waited out the length of her attention span and the girl barked out a quick goodbye before disappearing around a corner. Fiona took a minute to stretch and shake out the tingling in her arms. After a moment Maya leaned in to loop their fingers together, smiling with an affection that made Fiona's cheeks burn red.

"You're pretty good with kids, you know?"

She snorted and rolled her eyes, "Maybe, but damn if I haven't been reminded why I never want any."

"Yeah, Tina can be a handful." Maya agreed, "but I think she likes you. Which is good because she seems to have a crush on me and I was concerned she  _ might _ try and scare you away."

"It'd take a lot more than a rambunctious kid to get rid of me."

"Hm, try "might have left bombs in your pockets ``''

"Is that a joke? That's a joke right?" When the only response was a raised eyebrow, Fiona quickly patted down every spare pocket.

"Tina could probably put together a blast big enough to level this city in like...three minutes flat. Well, that might be an exaggeration, but the kid's a nightmare when she doesn't like you."

Once she was certain that there weren't any surprises waiting to blow her up, Fiona glanced over at her girlfriend thoughtfully. There was a fondness to her words that betrayed a sentiment she understood well as a Pandoran orphan. It took a village to raise a child after all.

"She hasn't got anyone, has she?"

Maya shrugged, "Hyperion took her parents. They took Roland too. We all do our best to keep up with her, but I think Brick and Mordecai spend the most time parenting her."

"How old was she?"

"Dunno, never felt like it was my place to ask. She was thirteen when my group of Vault Hunters met her. Gotta be close to fifteen now."

"She certainly felt like it." Fiona huffed, stretching her arms again.

The city was starting to grow on her, despite the lingering distrust of floating in the sky. It left the air tasting cleaner and cooler than it usually was down on the ground. She liked the way the near-constant breeze blew the long strands of Maya's bright hair, framing her cheeks with their softness. They called to Fiona and she carefully swept them behind Maya's ears, her hands straying further to play with the short hairs on the nape of her neck.

Somewhere in the distance people started shouting. Maya leaned away from her grasp, silver-blue eyes scanning the city instinctively. After a few moments her body lost its tension. She draped an arm over Fiona's shoulder and nodded further into the city. 

"Wanna retire for the night, before anyone else decides to intrude?" 

"Sounds like a plan to me." 

She took a moment to silently thank the fact that Maya had recently moved into an apartment of her own. From the sounds of it, the Crimson Raiders HQ could get a little hectic with the amount of people stomping through it. Not every Vault Hunter bunked there, but a fair enough number did that Fiona doubted just how much privacy one could get rooming there. With Zer0 joining Rhys and Sasha on Promethea, it left an empty apartment in the building next door. 

Inside the apartment wasn't much, just a one bedroom and a bathroom, but it wasn't like Maya needed more than that. Stacks of books littered most of the surfaces. An old coffee table with suspiciously sword-shaped slash on one end, an even older looking couch nestled between it and the wall. It had a homey, old-fashioned vibe to it that was so very like the Siren. Fiona found herself smiling as she took in the apartment.

"What?" Maya asked as she closed the door, narrowing her eyes as though she missed a joke.

"Nothing." Fiona shook her head, "This place just feels very... _ you _ ."

"Would it be weird if I said I feel the same way about you and that dinky caravan of yours?"

"Dinky? I'll have you know that thing has been through hell and back.  _ Dinky _ , my ass."

Maya laughed and gave her a shove, "I was kidding, geez."

She pretended to huff, but couldn't manage to keep the offended frown on her face for very long before her lips were curling in amusement. In an instant Maya was on her, ducking her head and attempting to kiss the laughter from her face. She only succeeded in making Fiona's smirk widen. The seconds stretched into minutes as the two of them followed the ebb and flow of their affection. Breaking apart only long enough to breathe before meeting in a clash of teeth and tongue.

Like was so often the case, Fiona's moves were a calculated effort to help her girlfriend take the lead. She stepped back with one foot and trailed a hand along Maya's tattoos. The Siren was quick to close the distance, matching each step until Fiona allowed herself to be pushed up against the wall. A slow, cautious dance where she hinted on where to go, what to do. She had picked up on it early on, the hesitance clinging to Maya's every action. It had worried her at first, the thought that perhaps things were moving too fast or that her girlfriend was uncomfortable with Fiona's actions. 

Maya had put it into words plainly the first time things fumbled into heavy territory; she was asexual. Occasionally she might feel the urge, but never acted on it since she hadn't found anyone that there was a real  _ connection  _ with. Such an honest opening up of herself brought a bravery out in Fiona. She spoke briefly of transitioning in her youth and the two of them didn't go any further that night, content with the acceptance and affection from one another.

The next time they rolled across the fold-out bed in the caravan, Maya pinning her to the covers and whispering sweet nothings into her ear, they didn't stop there. At the moment sex was something for Fiona, a display of love that her girlfriend was more than happy to make.

Her train of thought cut off abruptly after a particularly rough nip from Maya. A whimper curled in Fiona's throat, one hand fisting in fabric and the other dragging nails over a tattooed thigh. The sound seemed to fuel her girlfriend's ego, as the aforementioned thigh slotted in between her own. Friction pooled deliciously in her core as the minutes ticked along. 

Fingers traced their way under Fiona's shirt, long strokes along her hips and up to tease up her stomach. She sent a silent thanks to her own forethought for only wearing her usual jacket over an old t-shirt. As Maya's hands moved further up, she shuffled out of the brown coat as quickly as she could. Blue lips quirked with a self-satisfied grin.

"Excited?"

She groaned softly, "For someone with little experience you sure are a tease."

"And yet you seem to be enjoying yourself."

Those soft hands slid around to her back and after a few fumbling attempts, managed to unclasp Fiona's bra. She didn't bother pulling the thing the whole way off. Fiona was far too distracted to take it off herself, busying herself with grinding against Maya's thigh for every ounce of relief she could drag out. Her girlfriend squeezed over her chest with a gentle reverence. Soft and exploratory, before losing their careful control and falling into a pattern of roughness. A quick pull of her nipple, followed by an appreciative squeeze.

Her panting breathes trailed into quiet moans, desperately trying to hold onto what little pride she had left. With her eyes squeezed shut from the effort Fiona was caught off guard by the sudden intrusion of teeth on her neck. Lolling her head to the side, a drawn out groan fell from her lips. Every second of it was lovely, but patience was a virtue that escaped her in situations such as this.

Fiona bucked her hips impatiently against her girlfriend. The action paid off at last as Maya's hands fell from her chest, moving to undo her belt. She tried to urge the process on, but her hands were easily captured and pinned above her head. Moans flowed from her mouth freely now, unable to restrain them with the rough treatment she relished in so much. 

With the hand slipping in her pants, fingers easily moving her underwear to the side, Fiona knew she wasn't going to last long. Maya leaned down to capture her with a kiss. Distracting her long enough to surprise her, pushing into her with two fingers in a motion smooth enough that Fiona's voice broke halfway through the moan. They stayed there, just breathing into each other with every thrust. Her throat was beginning to feel ragged with every half-strangled moan. 

Tension coiled within her gut with a swiftness that made her flushed cheeks shine crimson. She could  _ feel _ the slickness,  _ hear _ the sounds she was making as Maya slid out slowly and in with force. The pad of her thumb began to rub circles over her clit and it was over. Fiona clenched around her girlfriend's fingers as she came, moans and slurred words spilling into the air with an urgency she couldn't keep up with.

_ I love you _ . She wanted to say it, three small words that she knew were already swirling on the tip of her tongue. Fiona wasn't brave enough, not while she was coming undone in her girlfriend's embrace, her eyes threatening to roll back in her head when the pressure didn't let up. A confession for another time she thought. Another place. 

They stayed close, Maya letting her pinned and aching arms free at last, only to sweep her into a hug gentle enough that Fiona half wanted to fall asleep in it. Her lips trailed lazy kisses along the Siren's neck and shoulders. Wrapped up in a moment where the noises of the outside world fell away, paled in comparison to the raw emotion seething in the air. When Maya pulled her from the wall, leading her to the bathroom for a well-earned shower, the feeling settled in her chest like an anchor.

___

Droplets of water littered her arms, dripping from the ends of her dark hair. When Fiona reemerged from the bathroom the windows were dark. She could see Maya leaning on a kitchen counter, leafing through a book. The longer they were together the more frequently she would walk in on Maya doing something and wish she could burn the image into her mind forever. There was this aura about her when the Siren thought no one else around, a peaceful tranquility Fiona had never known before in her hectic life. Pandora didn't leave many opportunities for scenes like that. 

The soft pad of her footsteps were still a tad too loud and Maya glanced over with an easy smile. She felt her heart skip a beat when their eyes met. Damn, she had never even remotely considered herself a romantic, but there was something about her girlfriend that brought on the softness. Perhaps it was just what being well and truly in love felt like, but Fiona liked to think it was Maya's doing. That she radiated the feeling for those she cared about.

"Hey, how're ya feeling?" She asked, reaching out to wipe away a droplet on Fiona's cheek.

"Hungry."

Maya swatted her hand away as she reached for a sandwich sitting on the counter, "Ah-ah! Not yet."

"What are we waiting for?" 

"I've got a question...how does a picnic sound?"

Fiona tilted her head, "On Pandora? Sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Also, it's like nine at night, babe." 

"Come on," Maya implored as she looped their hands together, "Surely things can stay calm enough for us to have a picnic. Just one little picnic under the stars."

She wanted to argue that Maya had just jinxed them, but found that those silvery eyes made it hard to dampen the mood. 

"You know what? Sure, let's go have a picnic, but I'm betting money on something interrupting us."

"Twenty bucks says we have a cute date and  _ nothing _ bad happens."

"Oh, you're on." Fiona grinned despite the side of the bet she was on. 

After packing a few sandwiches and drinks in an old, cloth bag (neither of them owned a picnic basket) they travelled to Three Horns Divide and hopped in Maya's technical. She had a nice spot in mind just a stone's throw from where Sanctuary had stood back before it became a floating city. No bandits, no skags, not even a rakk nest in sight. 

So, they set out and blanket and laid back staring at the sky. Maya pointed out a cluster of stars that would be hiding her home planet from view. Athenas sounded rather idyllic to her, another mysterious concept of a world where not everyone wanted you dead. Almost too good to be true. Maya snorted at that and agreed with the sentiment, pointing out that the corrupt monks she'd been raised by were proof enough of that. 

"Do you know any constellations?" Fiona asked idly, reaching for one of the sandwiches.

"Just the ones that I could see from home. Not much time for learning about stars when Handsome Jack wants you dead."

"Valid point."

Fiona finished eating first, mostly because Maya was hungry enough for more than one sandwich. With her mouth free again she began point out various stars. She didn't know the names of all of them, only a handful that she had memorized once upon a time for a con, but she enjoyed the feeling of her girlfriend's undivided attention. Well, mostly undivided. A good sandwich could be rather distracting. 

Soon they were cuddled up together, with legs entwined. Instinct left her shoulders hunched tensely despite how quiet the evening had been. Despite the money she had riding on something happening, Fiona hoped it stayed that way. Cold breezes blew passed occasionally and she was more than happy to press closer to her girlfriend. Maya had her eyes fixed on the sky. 

As enraptured as Fiona was by the sight, blue tattoos so similar to the stars twinkling in her peripheral vision, clouds were beginning to crawl their way across the sky. They gathered the blanket and empty bag before leisurely making their way back to the vehicle. Maya pulled her away from the door to deliver a bruising kiss, breaking away just as Fiona's lungs began to protest for air.

It wasn't until they were on the road again that things went south and it just  _ might _ have been Fiona's fault. She dug some cash out of her pocket, ever a woman of her word, then tossed it towards Maya's thigh. When her girlfriend looked over to snatch them before they fell, it was just long enough for a lurching shape to move into their path.

Maya swore as the technical bounced over the creature with ease, screeching to a halt and making her very grateful that they'd both remembered seatbelts this time around. Being thrown through the windshield would have easily been one of the worst ways Fiona had ended a date. Not the worst, but definitely up there. 

"I think we blew a tire." Maya grit her teeth.

"Please tell me we have a spare."

Part of her wanted to flaunt this as a "something bad happening", but they did have a spare tire. The silver lining was enough to curb her tongue for the moment. Fiona paused long enough to give the creature a good look, an adult skag cut nearly in two by the technical. Blood smeared along the dirt from it to where they had stopped. The skag wasn't even twitching in its death throes, so she doubted they would have to worry about it coming after them. She almost felt bad for the creature. At least death had claimed it swiftly, a mercy that wasn't always the case in the wilds of Pandora.

She had the most experience changing tires and set to work. Before Fiona could finish a ferocious howl broke through the quiet air, followed by several more roars.  _ Oh, come on _ , she cursed and jumped to her feet. Nothing could ever be simple around here. Gunshots drowned out the enraged cries as a horde of skags appeared out of the darkness. Fiona didn't even have time to draw a weapon of her own.

Maya's shots hit home, dropping the largest threats like flies. An alpha skag continued charging, his ugly jaws spilling drool with every bound, until a phaselock lifted him into the air. Two shots to the body and one to the head, which exploded in a plume blood. Scarlet against violet and ebony. If Fiona had been a more fanciful person she would have considered the scene sort of poetic. 

A pair of pups skidded to a halt when they realized the adults of the pack had been slaughtered. They milled about nervously until Maya took a threatening step forward, turning and fleeing on a dime. If she had ever found herself on the other side of the Siren's wrath, she would have done the same. There could be a certain type of wisdom in cowardice. 

"I want my twenty bucks back." 

Maya turned to look at her incredulously, "What?"

"I won the bet, something happened."

"Uh-uh, you already paid up and you're wrong. I won."

"Bullshit." 

Fiona wanted to argue a little more eloquently, but it was hard when her girlfriend pressed closer and looked down at her with raised eyebrows. 

"This little mishap didn't happen  _ on _ the picnic." Maya insisted with a smirk.

"Oh, we're arguing semantics now are we? I don't remember specifying when something would happen, just that it would."

"Go finish with the tire, you greedy thing."

"Me? Greedy? Never." 

Maya slapped her shoulder lightly and left to circle the vehicle. With her girlfriend keeping an eye out for danger, Fiona should have finished changing the tire quickly. Instead her green eyes lingered on Maya's back, dripping with affection. The words from earlier danced around the edges of her mind again. Even as she finally tore her gaze away and fixed the spare tire up. They remained as they drove back to the fast travel station. 

_ I love you _ , Fiona wanted to say as she laid beside her girlfriend that night. But she didn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little behind where I wanted to be with this project, but hey progress is progress! As always comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!


	3. nobody wants it, nobody wants it to stop

"Ugh, I miss the Fiona who couldn't make a relationship last longer than three months. You gave better breakup advice back then."

She shot a glare over at her sister, "I could too make a relationship last, even back then. Just never wanted to."

"Sure ya could."

"You make it really hard to feel bad for you."

Having Sasha crashing in the caravan again was both a nice change and already fraying her nerves. She had missed living with her younger sister, liked to think Sasha missed her as much too. But then she was reminded of one trait they both had in spades: the two of them were kinda assholes. When they were hurting deep down they were prone to lashing out, digging in with sarcasm. 

She didn't blame Sasha for driving her up the wall, really. Being dumped sucked even if you had been planning on doing the same thing. Sasha was independent and liked being the one to end things, Fiona understood the sentiment well. It's easier to hide your hurt if you're the one to instigate it, rather than having it sprung on you. Honestly she was still surprised that Rhys had it in him to have a conversation like that. Not that she'd say so at the moment. 

The details of the breakup were still foggy to Fiona, her attempts at pulling the truth from her sister were dodged as often as they weren't. Being a big name CEO took up the vast majority of Rhys' time and stressed him out.  _ When isn't Rhys stressed out, though? _ She had let that slip out unchecked, earning a scathing look in response. Perhaps being in a steady relationship  _ had _ lessened her ability to give good breakup talks. 

"I'm sick of talking about this, Fi. It's done and over with." Sasha waved a dismissive hand despite the glitter in her eyes, "How's your relationship going?"

"Asking about others relationships probably isn't going to help you feel better." 

"Hasn't stopped me before. How long have you and Maya been together now?"

Despite her better judgment Fiona answered, "Almost three years."

" _ Almost _ as in your anniversary is coming up or almost as in "it's been two years and I'm just so in love time flies"?" 

"...fine, it's been two and a quarter."

"You're so cheesy it's gross, sis."

This time Fiona actually swung a couch-pillow around to smack her sister. Sasha took the hit like a champ and whirled around to kick her off said couch. She teetered on the arm of it for a second before losing the fight with gravity, tumbling over the side with a resounding thud. As she pushed herself off the wooden panels the pillow came flying over, knocking her hat off. 

Sasha grinned, "Damn, you Vault Hunters are slacking on your reflex training."

"You know being a Vault Hunter isn't just practicing fighting until we magically go into a Vault."

"Eh, might as well be."

The snark went back and forth for awhile longer, that was just how the two of them had always been. If one of them wanted to have a serious moment or to open up, they would have to sit through the fronting first. Eventually Sasha settled down and dozed off on the caravan's couch. It had been a long trip from Promethea back to Pandora and adjusting to atmospheric differences between planets could do a number on you. Fiona had never been on another planet, but just their brief trip to Helios all that time ago had left her with a distinct feeling similar to seasickness. 

Rather than risk waking her sister, Fiona grabbed her echo device and slid outside as quietly as she could. She pulled Maya's contact up and waited as the device rang. There was no answer, so she settled for staring at the sky while she waited to hear back. After about five minutes the echo beeped noisily.

_ 'Can't call right now, what's up? Did your sister land okay?' _ Maya texted.

_ 'Yep and she's as charming as ever.' _

_ 'Aw is she roasting you?' _

Fiona frowned  _ 'No. Maybe. Anyway, how's your job going?' _

_ 'Everytime we think we've tracked the damn power core down, someone's traded it for something else. If one more person tells me I have to go gallivanting across Pandora I'm going to shoot myself' _

_ 'Shoot them instead' _

The conversation died off as Maya and the other Vault Hunters reached the next person they were looking for. With a bored sigh, Fiona returned to the caravan. Lately the Crimson Raiders had been busier than usual, but it has been ages since the last time she and Maya were assigned to the same job. An understandable if irritating turn of events since they had been dating. It left her restless and a bit lonely, not being called out to work as often.

Inside she could see that Sasha was awake again, her eyes puffy. She glanced at her echo in surprise. The waiting in between messages from her girlfriend hadn't felt all that long, but Fiona had indeed been outside for quite a bit. After tossing the device aside, she moved to the couch and let Sasha lean on her shoulder. It was quiet for a few minutes.

"Hey…" Sasha breathed out at last, looking like she was fighting off a sniffle, "do you remember Athena and Janey's wedding?"

She nodded suspiciously, "Uh, yeah. What about it?"

"Vaughn, Rhys and I got there early and had to wait ages for you to show up. We made bets on why you hadn't invited Maya as your plus one."

"We'd just started dating and I wasn't ready to make things more serious." 

Sasha snorted, "Damn, that means I owe Vaughn ten bucks."

"Do I even want to know what your bet was on?"

"Mmm, definitely not. Sorry. Anyways, you arrived at last and just as we're about to go in you tried to bail on the whole thing."

Fiona gave a resigned nod, unsure of where the conversation was going, but unwilling to risk making her sister more sad by putting a stop to it.

"The three of us were arguing about how to stop you when this technical comes roaring up. Out steps Maya, dressed to kill and matching you. I still have no idea who tipped her off about that."

"Probably Zer0."

Sasha made a noise of agreement, "So, you gave in at last, because of course only Maya could get through to you. Everyone had a blast. You two were the best looking couple there and that's saying something considering, you know, it wasn't  _ your _ wedding."

"To be honest, I think she planned that on purpose."

There was a heavy pause, as both of them got lost in the memories of that night. She still wasn't sure what Sasha's point was, but it was easy to get swept up in. The way Maya had looked in that suit was something she hoped to never forget. After a while her sister sighed.

"I remember thinking that I'd like something like that one day." She mumbled.

"Like the wedding itself, or being the couple that upstages it?" 

"The wedding itself, you arrogant toad." 

Fiona gave her a playful shove, feigning offense at the insult. It wasn't hard enough to keep Sasha away, that hadn't been the intention. There was a seriousness to Sasha's reminiscing that the two of them didn't touch on often. Or at least, not often since they'd both become adults and relied on one another less than before. She wrapped her arms around her sister and rested her chin on Sasha's head.

"You'll get that one day, you know."

"We live on Pandora and I'm twenty-seven, Fi. Every day is another chance for a premature death."

"I met Maya at twenty-nine, or did you forget how old your own sister is?"

Sasha just sighed.

"You'll get there, Sash, but it's gonna happen on it's own time. Last time we talked  _ you  _ wanted to break up with Rhys."

"I know and I'm not saying I wanted to marry him." She groaned in frustration, "Just upset that I can't make things last."

"To be fair, you have a pretty bad taste in men, so that might have something to do with it."

"You were  _ so close  _ to giving a good talk there, sis. So close."

"What? I'm not wrong."

Despite her words, Sasha lost some of the tension as she leaned against her. They stayed that way until Sasha dozed off again. She shifted to get comfortable, reminded suddenly that her sister was all elbows and sharp points. Not the most fun person to cuddle. But she needed the comfort and Fiona wasn't about to push her away just because she was getting elbowed in the side. After a bit her own mind wandered, not quite dozing off as it lost itself in memories.

___

_ The wedding venue, if it could even be called that, was relatively busy. Athena and Janey might have wanted something on the small side, but Vault Hunters had a way of inviting themselves to occasions like this. And anyone else they felt like bringing along. Scooter's old Catch-A-Ride garage was void of any vehicles and spare machinery to make room for the guests. Fiona couldn't figure out where in the world they had moved all the junk. _

_ Nervous butterflies flitted around in her stomach as she eyed the set up. Beside her, Maya placed their fingers together and gave a light squeeze. She looked over apprehensively, unsure of what she would see on her girlfriend's face. But she was here, wasn't she? Even though Fiona hadn't asked her too so that had to be a good sign.  _

_ "You good?" Maya asked. _

_ "I, uh, yeah." It came out more curt than intended. _

_ "I know you wanted to leave, but how about we just mingle for a bit? Let them know you're here and if it gets too much, then we'll leave together." _

_ Fiona was dumbfounded for a moment. Eventually she nodded slowly, still trying to wrap her head around...her girlfriend being understanding about what was going on. The uncomfortable feelings she had for Athena hadn't magically disappeared when she started dating Maya. It wasn't as though she had expected them to, but there was a part of Fiona that thought the whole thing seemed unfair to her girlfriend. _

_ As she regarded Maya and the way the Siren observed with a detached interest, it occurred to her. She would have known some of the faces at the event, but not the couple themselves. The only reason Maya was here was for Fiona's benefit. Something in her heart twinged at the thought, but the feeling wasn't unpleasant.  _

_ Green eyes roamed over the outfit she was wearing, sleek and ruffly. The way it flowed was fancier than anything Fiona had ever seen. Not that she'd gotten much experience with fancy occasions, other than for the occasional con. Where her own outfit was little more than a button up, vest, and dress pants , Maya's was a fullblown suit with all the bells and whistles. It was mostly black with gold accents to match her own, mostly gold with intricate black designs. The rest of the guests paled in comparison to them. _

_ From the ceremony to the afterparty Fiona found it startlingly difficult to focus on her surroundings. She could barely peel her gaze away from Maya, watching the way she mingled, the way she moved. When it came time for music and dancing dismay only distracted her for a few heartbeats. Then the two of them were dancing together, Fiona following in her girlfriend's lead practically like a lost duckling.  _

_ For the first time in months the ache in her heart just...wasn't there. Fading until there was nothing left except the memory why it had been there in the first place. She smiled up at Maya, trying to convey in silent appreciation the way that her emotions were singing inside. After months of unhappiness, of uncertainty, Fiona was released from a sort of torture she hadn't truly been aware of until it was over.  _

_ She looked at Maya, at the relationship that was growing between the two of them, and she was at peace. _

___

"Snnrk." 

Fiona was startled awake by the sound of her own snoring. Just how many hours had passed were hard to tell, but there was no outside light that flooded through the caravans window. Instead she spotted Sasha at the wheel and was suddenly aware of the shaky sensation of the vehicle moving. She stretched, wincing at the soreness in her muscles from falling asleep in such an odd position. 

"Hey, you awake? I don't hear anymore snoring."

Fiona grumbled,"I  _ don't  _ snore."

"You might want to see a doctor then 'cause whatever-the-hell that noise you were making was, it didn't sound healthy."

She padded over to lean lazily on the seat, squinting at the blurry lights that occasionally streaked by the window. 

"Where are we going?" Fiona asked, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

"Your girlfriend called while you were asleep, so I answered. They're trying to get as many of you Vault hunters together as they can for some sort of meeting. She said I could tag along."

Apprehension pricked along her spine at the words. It was rare for them to get together for anything other than a job or drinks, unless it was Crimson Raider business. That was something Fiona had a tendency to skip out on when it popped up. Vault hunting was one thing, but the Crimson Raiders were a more put together group whose ideals didn't always match up with her own. Old habits die hard and Fiona wasn't willing to completely give up her life as a con artist. The Raiders weren't saints, by any means, but they did their best to look out for the people. That meant more than a few occasions where she had been reprimanded.

But if Maya had called to insist they join then it meant one of two things: something big was going on  _ or _ Fiona had upset somebody important and was in for a lecture. At the moment neither of those things were particularly pleasant sounding.

___

Inside the headquarters, up the stairs and into the planning room, things are tense from the moment they stepped in. Fiona and Sasha meld into the edges, ever the watchful wallflowers. Sharp eyes and sharper ears. A glance from Maya was the only acknowledgement to their arrival. 

Lilith stood over the table, Vault Key sitting between her arms. Mordecai was nearly leaning over her as he jabbed an angry finger across the room. Behind him, Brick was an intimidatingly defensive figure. Maya and Zer0 were near the table, inserting themselves in the disagreement with action rather than words just yet. She hadn't worked out what the argument was about, but the sides were clearly being drawn. 

"They're just bandits, since when have they ever made sense?" Axtongrowlsed from the other side of Mordecai's accusatory pointing.

"Yeah and we react accordingly whenever they get weird. It would be better to wipe this group out  _ now _ ." 

Fiona wanted to ask just what group they were talking about, but a sliver of foreboding tripped up her voice. A whispered warning from her subconscious that whatever was going it was larger than any of them could imagine. She exchanged a glance with Sasha, relieved to see her eyes were dark with apprehension as well. This instinct wasn't something Fiona alone was feeling.

Instead of paying attention to the debate, green eyes scanned the room for similar tensions. Gaige stood near the two of them, fiddling with some parts on her robotic arm in a bored fashion. It was impossible to tell what Zer0 felt about it all. A man that she's pretty sure was Zed looks equally disinterested, while Tannis stood about as far pressed into a corner as she could manage. Nobody else seemed to be as concerned as her and Sasha.

"Alright,  _ alright _ ." Lilith broke into a particularly lengthy discussion that most of the others have turned out on, "We'll put it to a vote. Everyone who wants to get rid of these three bandit camps stand over there. The rest of you stand by the door."

People moved in an instant, or at least the ones most invested in the decision did. On the side to fight preemptively was Mordecai, Brick, Zer0 and Gaige. The only ones not on one side or the other were Lilith and Tannis. Having heard of the scientists aversion to people, Fiona didn't blame her for remaining stalwartly in the corner.

"Okay, that does it. The Crimson Raiders  _ aren't  _ going to waste resources getting rid of them-"

'Come on, Lil!" Mordecai complained gruffly.

"We have more important business and there haven't been complaints yet. Yeah, it's weird for so many bandits to join up together, but they'll get bored and kill each other soon."

Eventually Mordecai relented with his unhappy glare. As if on cue, the rest of the room dispersed in waves. The sisters hovered near the door until Maya approached. When she did Sasha slipped out first to lead the way to the caravan. Fiona reached out to take her girlfriend's hand as they left. Thoughts rolled around behind her eyes, even as Maya pressed her lips to dark hair softly.

It wasn't until the three of them were crashed in the caravan, that the meeting was discussed. Sasha was putting together a simple dinner for them, most likely grilled cheese or some other easily-made sandwich. The silence was broken by Maya clearing her throat for attention.

"You two are awfully quiet."

Fiona exchanged a glance with her sister, "Got a bad feeling about the whole thing."

"Care to share?"

"Have you ever gotten this sixth sense about danger? Like when you're out somewhere and you get this...this-"

"It's like a sinking in your chest." Sasha broke in to help her out, "this sudden instinct to look over your shoulder, or take a different route."

Maya looked from one of them to the other quizzically, weighing the seriousness in their tones. They might be the type to pull your leg needlessly, but this was real. The discomfort in their tense bodies wasn't a joke. Silver eyes squinted as the Siren pondered their words.

"You guys think we should have voted to fight them?"

"Not really. Just that it's something to keep an eye on." Fiona sighed.

"Well, I'm sure Mordecai won't want to drop it so easily. If they do anything fishy he'll be the first to let us know."

The conversation ended there, but Fiona had a feeling that none of them would be forgetting it anytime soon.

___

Even from the sheer distance they were at, the sight pulled the breath clear from Fiona's lungs. The echo piece in her ear kept her and Sasha up to date with the plans, she knew that the people she cared about were  _ safe _ and that was what mattered, but tragedy bloomed in the sky regardless. 

Sanctuary was gone. Fire and smoke wrapped in ball, spreading across the sky with the momentum of the explosion. There would be no going back, nothing left to regain from the wreckage. Her heart ached for a city that wasn't even her home. It ached for the people who couldn't escape before succumbing to the plant infection unleashed upon Sanctuary. For the futures that would crash and burn with this unfortunate ending. 

But Fiona was safe, as was her sister and Maya. The Crimson Raiders would live to fight another day under Lilith's official command. After everything that had happened that was a small blessing. She didn't expect Maya back for another few hours, after all it had been her group of Vault Hunters that took the brunt of the action. Plus, Lilith was probably reeling from the intense amount of eridium-fueled power she'd used just now. 

Darkness overtook the sky by the time she heard from her girlfriend again. Maya fast traveled to meet them in the dust, with their caravan parked right next to the station so she wouldn't have to go far. As soon as those glowing blue tattoos materialized from the darkness, Fiona rushed over to embrace her. Sasha followed her over at a respectful distance, brimming with excitement to hear the tale from Maya firsthand.

"The hero returns." Her sister grinned as Maya made a face at the nickname. 

"I'm surprised you guys are still awake."

Fiona scoffed, "You think anybody would be ready to sleep after seeing that?"

"Touché."

The three of them fell silent after a few moments. Once they reached the caravan door, Sasha broke it with a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan. 

"I feel kinda bad about not helping Vaughn out."

"Wait, that was the Vaughn you guys went into the Vault with?" Maya stopped and blinked incredulously at her.

"Without a doubt. He told us he was gonna try running with bandits again awhile back, then dropped off the face of Pandora."

"I'm glad he was doing well with that, you know, before this craziness. Good on him." Fiona chimed in.

"Huh, small world."

"That's for sure."

Sasha leaned against the door, "I don't envy Lilith right now."

Fiona made a noise of agreement and was surprised to see her girlfriend glance over. Her shoulders tensed defensively, green eyes ducking to the ground on instinct. Their tendency to avoid situations like the one today was born of her and Sasha's upbringing. It didn't make conversations any easier knowing that, however.

"What do you mean?"

Sasha looked between the two of them and balked under the pressure, eye imploring Fiona to answer instead. 

"Uh, well, you know." When Maya raised her eyebrows she cleared her throat before continuing, "Just that all this business with the Vault map is a part of something bigger. Who knows what could happen if the Raiders aren't the first to find it again. Plus there's a lot of unified bandit activity, things aren't going to be easy for Lilith."

"Well, she's got all of us to help her through it."

Fiona looked away, "All of  _ you. _ "

"What?"

_ Oh, you've messed up now _ , her inner voice sang as Fiona's heart sank into her stomach. Maya's silver eyes narrowed, like she was hoping that she'd imagined Fiona's words. There was no going back. She'd started the conversation and lying about how she felt would only make things worse.

"She's got all of you. The Raiders."

"You're a Vault Hunter too, Fiona." Her girlfriend murmured in a way she could only describe as dangerous.

"But I'm not a Crimson Raider."

"So, what is that supposed to mean? You're just going to turn tail because of some bandits? Since when has a Vault Hunter done that."

"I'm not running away because I'm a coward." Fiona insisted hotly.

"But you  _ are _ running away."

She didn't have an immediate response to the accusation, her insides beginning to roll at the hurt glimmering in Maya's eyes. As the silence stretched on, Sasha slipped into the caravan awkwardly. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes. Her girlfriend looked away and folded her arms. After a moment she sighed, still not looking back.

"After Sanctuary fell and we lost the map I decided something. I'm going back to Athenas."

Fiona couldn't believe her ears, "What? Why?"

"There's a Vault there. You're right, if someone else gets ahold of that map, there would be nothing stopping them from going to Athenas. No one to protect the people there."

"But...by yourself? After everything that those people did, they don't deserve your protection."

"The  _ monks _ don't, but the Brotherhood ended the day I left. Everyone that's there right now is innocent." Maya paused and fixed her with a dark stare, "and I was going to ask you to come with me."

"Maya…"

Her heart beat feebly, singing out words that couldn't find their way to her tongue. The romantic in Fiona, the part that was reminded of how long they'd been together, wanted to abandon her reservations and say she'd go. Anything to fend off the growing tension between them and the fear making her nauseous. Maya and her had fought through everything together for several years now. Why did it have to be this tearing them apart?

Fiona knew why, the logical part of her screamed out the words and sent them bouncing around her skull. Instincts that were born from years of hardship took precedence to everything else. She couldn't fight them, not when listening to those instincts was the only reason Fiona and Sasha survived as orphans.  _ I have to protect my sister. _

"I can't- we can't go with you." She closed her eyes and grit out the words.

"You're running away." 

She still didn't open her eyes, knowing exactly what they would show her. The words weren't spoken out of malice, Maya wasn't trying to insult her. It was just a desperate plea for what was happening to not be happening.

"And you're fighting a losing battle." Her words carried a stinging edge.

"At least I'm fighting."

"You could  _ die _ over there. Protecting people who probably didn't think twice about you after you left."

"Well, your sister had it right. That's what a hero would do."

Those final words brooked no further argument. It was clear that neither of them was prepared to budge. She didn't blame Maya for it, these were simply two different instincts that arose from separate lives with their own difficulties. Grief swirled in her eyes, threatening to spring out if Fiona allowed herself even a moment of distraction. But she wasn't going to cry right now, not if her pride had anything to say about it.

For a moment they leaned in, close enough that Fiona screwed her eyes shut and focused on keeping her breathing steady.  _ Please don't kiss me _ , the voice begged. She couldn't handle the thought of their last kiss as a couple. Leaning away, Maya seemed to pick up on this. 

"So...I guess that's it, huh?" The Siren asked softly.

Fiona nodded, throat too choked up to say anything. 

"Goodbye, Fiona."

Every step back to the fast-travel station that Maya took, every step away from  _ her _ , was a knife twisting in her guts. Deep down the words bubbled and poured out of the wound. Never to see the light of day, never to grace the Siren's ears as her figure disintegrated from sight. Her feet that were once glued to the ground, turned on the heel and carried her into the caravan on autopilot.

Inside Sasha jumped away from the door with a guilty frown, but it was lost on her. Fiona fell to the couch with a strangled noise. The cushions dipped as her sister curled around her shaking body. Hot, angry, heartbroken tears spilled down her cheeks with the force of a dam breaking. 

"Oh, Fi, I'm so sorry. I brought the break up curse with me, I mean, it's been a few years but-"

She cut Sasha off, "I didn't tell her I loved her."

"You just broke up." The words were slow, careful.

"Do you think that means I don't?" Fiona snarled, "God, we always say it before one of us goes on an extended job. I need to tell her before she leaves for Athenas. I need her to know-"

Any other person, when faced with a wrath such as this, would have flinched at her harshness. Sasha barely blinked. Sympathy rolled from her sister in waves, so palpable Fiona felt as though it might choke her when she opened her mouth.

"Fi, you taught me that rule number one was to never send messages while emotionally compromised."

"But I need her to-"

"She knows. You said so yourself, you always say it before long jobs. She'll know that you're thinking it even if you just argued."

The rest of the night blurred away into guilt and tears and loud, ugly sobbing. But Sasha's words stayed there, settling in the pit of her stomach. An anchor.  _ She knows _ . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't actually had a chance to play the Commander Lilith DLC, so if there's any discrepancies I apologize. 
> 
> To be honest, this chapter was hard as hell to work on dialogue-wise. Me and my girlfriend have been together for five n a half years and we never argue, only had one "fight" if it could even be called that. So, I simply don't have a bunch of experience and had to go with instinct on writing that scene. Hopefully it hits off well lmao


	4. that's it, it's split, it won't recover

"Alright, I need to hang up. The kid's not going to teach herself." Maya sighed, lifting a hand to wave goodbye. 

"Okay bye, lo-" 

She managed to cut herself off before finishing the sentence, slapping the button with a little more force than necessary. Hopefully Fiona had imagined the pinch of Maya's forehead as the image flickered out of sight.  _ Definitely could have been some pixels going out on my echo, _ she nodded stiffly to punctuate the thought. 

Sasha pushed the door of the caravan open noisily, "Hey why the long face?"

"It's nothing, sis." She groaned.

"Really? Cause you look like someone who just told their ex they loved her."

Fiona sat up with enough speed to make her vision swim for a moment. 

"How did you..?" She asked, green eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"I might have started to walk in, noticed you were on your echo and accidentally eavesdropped."

"That's not  _ accidentally, _ that was purely your choice."

Sasha shrugged with a sheepish grin, an expression that betrayed the fact that she very much would do the same again if the opportunity arose. Not that Fiona could blame her, they were a nosy pair by nature. Resignation settled in her chest with a groan. They would have to have this conversation sooner or later, anyways.

"Do you think spending so much time talking to Maya is doing more harm than good?" Her sister asked cautiously.

"We're just talking. Using video occasionally when one of us is too busy to hold the echo while we talk, but really it's nothing big."

"Most people would beg to differ."

"Yeah? Well, most people don't stay friends with their exes." Fiona sniffed, folding her arms defensively. 

"I'm just saying that you might want to back off a bit. You're my sister and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"And I'm just saying that it's  _ nothing _ . Maya and I chat from time to time, because we get along well."

"At least once a day isn't "from time to time", sis."

They stared each other down for a tense few moments, wearing identical stubborn expressions. Sasha was the first to back down. She sighed and threw up her hands in defeat, shuffling away to kick her shoes off into a corner. A twinge of guilt stabbed Fiona at the harshness of her sister's movements. The concern was touching even if it left her feeling prickly and defensive.

Things had been difficult since the rise of the Children of the Vault. Rather than just disappear on Pandora, Sasha and her had decided that moving to another planet was the safest course of action. With all of the bandit clans coming together under one banner, there really wasn't anywhere they could hide out to escape them completely. They'd scraped together every bit of cash they could and took the caravan to Eden-6.

Every precaution was taken; new names, new outfits, new everything. They didn't have any contacts on this swampy planet, but one could never be too careful when disappearing. Back into the life of con artistry it was. Sasha set up working in a small town, so that they had a bit of regular income and some cover as well. She worked throughout the week and spent the weekends in the caravan with Fiona, scouting out any quick jobs that they could.

Keeping food on the table was manageable, thankfully, but having enough money for more than that varied. Sometimes when Fiona was feeling sentimental she liked to think Felix would be proud of them. They might have taken a break from conning to practice more legal pursuits for awhile, but falling back into a life of crime came as naturally as slipping on a glove. 

After a bit Sasha wandered back over, "Got a plan for today?"

"I heard that the Jakobs family is looking for a couple new hands."

"In the mansion itself?"

"Mmhmm." Fiona felt a smile pull at one side of her lips, "Sounds like the perfect chance to case the joint. Maybe even nab something while we're there."

"Let's get going then."

___

It was a long drive across Eden-6 without fast-travel, but Fiona found the trip relaxing in a weird way. Pandora had a host of various climates, every one of them as dangerous as they could be awe-inspiring. But the swamps of Eden-6 were different then anything she'd trudged through before.

Even the creatures were an exotic change compared to the ones of their home. They rolled passed lounging packs of saurians, their bipedal figures menacing in their strangeness. It wasn't often that they travelled far enough into the jungles here to see jabbers, but the few she'd seen reminded Fiona vaguely of bullymongs. After a careful consideration, she decided she liked them better than bullymongs, however. 

"So, have you got a plan of action? Or are we winging it?" Sasha asked, leaning on the driver's seat.

"It depends on who's conducting the interview."

"I'll take that as "winging it"."

Fiona batted her away with a huff. It wasn't too much longer and they arrived at the gates of the Jakobs Manor. Even if she had the money for it, Fiona couldn't imagine wanting a home of that sheer size. What would you do with all that space? She could fit almost everything she needed in a space as small as the caravan. Plus, that way she could be mobile at all times. 

They were buzzed in and carefully parked the caravan along the path up to the house. She had a feeling that parking on the beautifully trimmed grounds wouldn't go over well, so the dirt road was a safer bet. Sasha was shuffling into a nicer looking jacket. Leaning passed her sister to see in the mirror, she opted to leave her signature hat and brushed her hair aside one last time. As a part of changing their looks, Fiona had switched from a pink streak in her hair to a blond one. Now it curled in the opposite direction, easy to tuck behind an ear to be hidden, should the need arise.

As they reached the door, it opened before they even had a chance to knock or ring the doorbell. Sasha tensed beside her suspiciously. They were greeted by an older man, tall with a curl of silver-gray hair sticking up haphazardly. He looked a little worn down, but smiled at them nonetheless.

"The interviewees that just buzzed in, I presume?"

"That would be us." Fiona put on her most charming voice, "and to whom do we owe the pleasure of being interviewed by?"

Sasha's gaze flickered to her for a moment, but the man just gave a gruff laugh as he motioned them in, "The name's Wainwright. Wainwright Jakobs."

Their steps stuttered at the announcement, Sasha managing to recover the motion more naturally than Fiona did. Of course luck would place them under the careful scrutiny of an actual Jakobs rather than any old worker. It was a family corporation, after all, they should have guessed that things weren't so easily delegated to underlings here. At least it wasn't the head of Jakobs himself. 

"My father is busy entertaining a friend. The rest of the staff are reporting to him for the moment, it's been a hectic day."

"We can come back another day." Sasha piped up, clearly on edge about the situation.

It had been awhile since they pulled off a big heist. Even if they weren't planning on this being a huge job, the idea of stealing from under the Jakobs' noses  _ while _ being interviewed by one was nerve-wracking. But Fiona wasn't ready to back down yet. 

Wainwright insisted that it wasn't a problem, he had interviewed plenty of potential workers and actually preferred it to the other responsibilities of running a company. She got the feeling that he wasn't the type to enjoy big business. They were led on a tour of the manor, answering questions in between being shown one room or another. Job interviews weren't something Fiona had a lot of experience with, but this was certainly more casual than she expected. Even Sasha was beginning to lose her tension as they talked. 

Everything was going swimmingly, up until the group stopped by a study on the second floor. The sound of mismatched footsteps keyed Fiona's ears into the change first. It was familiar in a way she couldn't quite place, the obvious gait of a prosthetic leg compared to a flesh and blood one. Heart sinking deep into her stomach, she rounded the corner and froze in place. 

"This is-" Wainwright began to introduce them, but there was no need.

"Ah, Fiona! It's good to see you again"

She'd met Sir Hammerlock a handful of times while visiting Maya in Sanctuary in the past. Even ran the occasional errand, although dealing with wildlife wasn't high on Fiona's list of favorable jobs. Wainwright looked from one of them to the other with raised eyebrows.  _ Ah shit, we used our fake names earlier. Strike one _ , she groaned internally. 

"Hey." She waved awkwardly. 

"And this must be that sister of yours that you mentioned so often. Sasha, yes?"

Her sister shook his hand with the same level of tension already spiking through Fiona.  _ Strike two on the names _ . Sir Hammerlock didn't seem to notice, or if he did, it wasn't something that concerned him.

"What brings you to the Jakobs home?" He asked pleasantly.

"They're here for the interview, Alistair."

There was a softness to the way he said the name, Fiona eyed the man cautiously at it. No, it wasn't a warning, there was no malice in those eyes. Wariness left her body poised to react in an instant regardless. She was missing something.

"To be a part of the staff? That's a very different skill set for a Vault Hunter to pursue." 

"These are friends from back on Pandora?" Wainwright guessed, throwing them a sideways glance.

"Why yes, Fiona here ran a few jobs for me back at Sanctuary. Quite splendidly, too, I might add."

When they both turned to look at her, confusion sparking across their faces, she knew it was over.  _ Strike three _ , her inner thoughts sang. Perhaps her good standing with Sir Ham- Alistair would save them from too much trouble. The truth couldn't hurt them anymore than it already had, could it?

"I'm gonna be honest...we, uh, came here to scope the place out."

Alistair blinked and then barked out a peal of laughter, "Ah, that's right! You were quite the con artist back in the day, weren't you?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I was all  _ that _ good." Fiona offered up her own nervous laughter, "but sometimes you have to go back to what you know."

"I take it you two were looking to escape the troubles of Pandora as well?"

"Yeah, we haven't been on Eden-6 for long. Lovely planet by the way." She put in for good measure.

All the while, Wainwright watched the sisters with eyes narrowed thoughtfully. It was impossible to tell what was going on behind them. For their own sake, Fiona hoped her pleasant conversation with Hammerlock would lessen whatever was to come next. She had a feeling she could outrun the two older men, but Jakobs was a weapons company. If things came to a shoot out she wasn't sure what the results would be. That, and she didn't particularly  _ want  _ to shoot Alistair Hammerlock. He was one of the rare  _ polite _ and  _ gentlemanly  _ people she'd met and it would have been a shame to snuff that from the world.

Beside her, Sasha seemed to be equally uncertain. Milling about nervously while looking from Fiona to Wainwright to Alistair and back again. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, hoping that if her own nerves could be hidden then perhaps her sister's would as well. After another minute of careful observation, the man spoke up.

"You know, one of my father's best employees is a reformed smuggler. A man by the name of Clayton." He began, tilting his head slightly.

"Oh?" 

"Runs a swell little group with talents similar to his. I'd be happy to put in the good word, if it sounds like something ya'd like to do."

Fiona was taken aback by how quickly the situation turned around. She glanced over Sasha, who flashed her an encouraging smile. The look was easy to read, after years of needing to communicate without spoken words. Her sister had a cover job already and Fiona finding something more stable than the con work she scraped together would be a godsend for them. No more living from paycheck to paycheck, with barely enough to feed them let alone anything else. 

"Uh, yeah. Yes. That would be wonderful."

"One condition, though. No more robbing the Jakobs corporation, not even the little guys at the bottom of the chain. Alistair seems to trust you, so if you give me your word, I will too."

"Of course, cross my heart." Fiona promised, surprised by how much she meant it.

The rest of the "interview" was spent catching up. As it turned out, Alistair and Wainwright were boyfriends, which explained the soft expressions. They made a cute couple and if anyone deserved a good relationship, it was Alistair Hammerlock. By this point Sasha warmed up to them and was happy to discuss the finer points of Jakobs weaponry with Wainwright. Fiona had a feeling that if they stayed in touch with the couple, her sister would end up as a part of the Jakobs corporation before long. 

It had grown dark by the time they left. Returning home was a pleasantly uneventful trip, something Fiona was beginning to love about Eden-6. They certainly had to repair the caravan less in their entire time here than in a month on Pandora. Living surrounded by dank swampland wasn't exactly how she'd pictured her future, but Fiona was surprised to find the thought of moving here permanently at the back of her mind. 

The next evening she received a call from Clayton, who insisted she call him Clay, and just like that Fiona had a job. Her expertise at taking on various personas meant she would act as a siphon for information. Clay would give her a role and a place to troll for what they needed. After that it was just a matter of keeping an ear fixed to her surroundings and remembering to take note of anything out of the ordinary. 

Her calls with Maya began to space out, with a newfound job it was harder for them to be free at the same time. There was a fair amount of disappointment in that, but it was probably for the best, like Sasha had said. Now that she did so less often it was easier to see how dependent on the calls she had become. Fiona needed to stand on her own two feet without the constant hope that perhaps the spark between them would ignite once more. 

It was an easy thought to accept, until a particular call, a month or so into her new line of work. 

"She's just been driving me up the wall lately." Maya sighed in frustration on the other end of the line.

"Teenagers have a way off doing that."

"I'm not even asking much of her, though. If I were piling a bunch of stuff on her so soon after losing her parents, I would understand. But she won't even do the little things I tell her to."

"Hmm." Fiona intoned before smirking, "You know, I seem to remember stories of a little blue-haired Siren who hated staring at water in the abbey once upon a time, too."

"That was different, I grew up having to stare at the water. She doesn't want to  _ at all _ \- hey, you stop making that face!"

"Me? Make faces at your hypocrisy? I would never."

"Don't you have anything helpful to add, or are you just going to mock me?" Maya glared on the other end of the echo.

"Well, mocking people is my specialty, but I guess I can make an exception for you. Have you told her it will help her become a Siren?"

"Of course I told her, but Ava's a smart kid. She knows it's not  _ really _ anything other than teaching her to be patient and all that jazz." Maya sighed remorsefully. 

"What about framing it differently? Try saying some bullshit like "if you stare at the water you'll understand it and be able to tap into the well of your Siren powers". You know, all mysterious."

"That sounds like a load of convoluted bullshit."

"Only if it doesn't work." She pointed at the screen, an action that would have gotten her smacked had they been face to face.

"You know it won't work, ya idiot."

"But Ava doesn't, so she'll at least stare at the water a  _ little _ , until she realizes too."

Maya just shook her head with a drawn out sigh, amusement pulling her lips into a smile. The sight of it made Fiona's stomach do a somersault. Her next words made it flip enough that nausea worked its way to the front of her mind. Oh, Sasha would be having a field day with this if she knew. Thankfully she'd had the forethought to sit on the roof of the caravan for some privacy while they spoke.

After a while Maya leaned on her hand, "Sometimes she reminds me so much of you."

"Why's that?" She struggled to ask around her heavy tongue.

"Kid's got stickier fingers than you. Hell, the whole reason I didn't toss her off the cliff for pickpocketing me was because it reminded me of how Felix found you and Sasha."

"Heh, I remember you mentioning that. Every orphan should try it, so far it's seemed like a pretty easy way to get adopted." She grinned.

"I haven't adopted Ava. I'm just her mentor." Maya blinked, a spark confusion flickering on her face. 

"Hm, you spend all your time worrying about her or lecturing her, or sometimes even both simultaneously. Sounds a lot like a parent to me."

"You know what? You might be onto something."

When Maya snorted and rolled her eyes, it was easy for her to slip into a different world. A fantasy where the two of them hadn't broken up. Fiona could picture being out on a job, promising that as soon as it was finished with she would return to them on Athenas. This little ramshackle family unit, with Ava as a daughter. From what she'd heard it was easy to pretend like the girl really was theirs. All spunk and thievery, the same way Fiona had been as a teenager, but one day she'd be a Siren like Maya. Even the navy hair could almost be a mix between Maya's sapphire blue and her own dark brown. 

Her heart twisted in her chest at the thought. Painful tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, forcing Fiona to look away and willfully blink until they were gone. Guilt and unhappiness swirled in their place. She was better than this. Hopelessly pining after Athena had been stupid enough, but this? Maybe Sasha's bad taste in romantic partners was something that ran in the family.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Y-yeah, just got something in my eye." Fiona's throat trembled, a sour betrayal of her nerves.

There was a heavy pause, Maya watching her with searching eyes. She needed to get better at hiding things like this.

"I, uh…" The Siren hesitated, "I've missed talking to you lately."

Before Fiona could think of something to say in response that wouldn't betray the ache in her heart, something sounded in the background of the echo call. Maya spun around with one hand raised threateningly. The Abbey might be a peaceful place, but there were some instincts that no amount of time could dull. She felt her heartbeat in her throat, squinting at the pixels in a desperate attempt to see what was going on.

"I've got to go, Fiona." Maya growled, slapping her hand on the echo.

She missed the 'end call' button, however, as Fiona could clearly hear the argument rising. Rather than end the call herself, she awkwardly shifted and weighed her options. When would they get a chance to talk again? Perhaps Maya wouldn't be too upset and they could continue when she realized the echo was still on.

"Ava! What are you doing in here?" Maya growled in disbelief.

"Uh, haha, definitely not trying to snoop through your room."

"Why are you trying to snoop through my room?"

"I said I  _ wasn't  _ doing that. Because I wasn't, uh, I was...lost! Got turned around on my way back from...the library."

The Siren's tone was enough to make even Fiona flinch, "Ava!" 

"Ugh." The teenager complained, folding her arms in frustration, "I had almost made it back out and you never would have known."

"Next time try holding you sneezes in quieter."

"It wasn't a sneeze! I gagged because you're so gross. Why don't you just start dating your friend on the echo already?"

"That is- you- Ava, it's complicated. We're not having this discussion." Maya stammered. 

"What's complicated about it? All you do is moon over your dumb echo when she messages you."

" _ Ava. Drop. It. _ "

To her credit, the kid bared her teeth angrily for a solid few seconds, until the threat of Maya's wrath finally became too much. It was longer than Fiona would have lasted under the glare she was sure the Siren wore at the moment. 

"Go back to your room. You better come up with a pretty nice excuse, because we are  _ so _ having a talk about this in the morning."

"...whatever."

"Come again?"

"I said, "fine, Maya". See you tomorrow." Ava put on a false sing-song voice.

"Much better." 

Ava stalked out of the room, practically oozing a storm of unhappiness. The words she'd uttered stayed behind and swirled through Fiona's mind on repeat. Giving in to the hope was a bad idea, but she couldn't ignore them. Maya was as enraptured by their talks as she was. After all of this time the  _ feelings  _ were still there, even if just a tiny bit. There was a chance that the two of them could be together again, wasn't there?

Her spiraling thoughts halted as Maya's face appeared on her echo screen once more. Silver eyes squinted and then widened in horror. Fiona smiled sheepishly, raising her shoulders in a light shrug. Within a few moments a mask crept across the Siren's face and there was nothing left for her to discern.

"Well, shit. Sorry you had to hear that."

"Kids, right?"

Maya glanced away, an awkward silence fanning between them like a blanket. Her own words failed to come to fruition despite her attempts at filling the space. Nothing seemed to fit appropriately. After a while, it was the Siren who spoke up at last.

"I take it you heard...all of that?

"Mhmm." She drew the word out slowly.

"Should we talk about it?"

"You're starting to sound like Sasha."

Maya looked away and bit her lip, "I take it I'm not the only one "mooning" over her echo, huh."

Before Fiona could speak up, something loud crackled over the echo. Both of them jumped in their seats. This time the echo remained in Maya's hand, so she could sort of see the background of the room. A small shape crashed through the door, wheezing audibly enough for her to hear. The blood drained from Maya's face.

"What on- Ava?"

"We're under attack."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished this up before bed, so if I missed any mistakes please let me know!


	5. just frame the halves and call them brothers

One thing Fiona could always pride herself in was her ability to steadfastly stick to the decisions she made. Even some of the dumber things she had done on impulse, she was known for following through simply out of spite by that point. So, when it became obvious that  _ something  _ was attacking Athenas' peaceful abbey and was coupled by the fact that she hadn't heard from Maya since, Fiona found herself falling back from the one aspect of her personality that she was proud of.

It wasn't as simple as just going to see if Maya was safe. How would she travel to Athenas? Tracking down a travel station connected to other planets was difficult even on a good day. And what was attacking the abbey? Fiona couldn't rush in without knowing what she was up against, that would only ensure her own death. She was left pacing the length of the caravan anxiously as her thoughts whirled unchecked.

"Fi…" Sasha murmured from the couching, face twisted in concern. 

When she didn't respond, her sister tried again, "Fiona. Wearing a track in our floor isn't going to help anything."

"What do you want me to do?" It came out harshly.

"I don't know." She sighed honestly, "and I know that's not what you want to hear."

"I just need... _ something _ to tell me what I'm supposed to do." 

Fiona clenched her fists in frustration, feeling the sharp pricks of her nails digging into palms. The fatal flaw of being the person who was supposed to think ahead for every situation was that it made  _ not _ knowing the answers that much more painful. There wasn't anyone she could ask to find the correct course of action. Her heart twisted down one path, while her instincts stood firmly in another. 

They had come to Eden-6 for safety, for a new start, and here Fiona was wanting to dash everything to go running back. Was risking their anonymity really the right way to go? Maya was strong, so much stronger than she could ever hope to be. Even if she went to Athenas, what more could she offer that they didn't already have? The seasoned survivor in her whispered that it wasn't worth it. Fiona the con artist, the vault hunter- that Fiona had died on Pandora, it insisted.

But the sliver of good still wrapped around her broken soul begged to differ. It didn't matter if she barely offered more than an extra gun to whatever fight was going on on Athenas, it was  _ something _ and it would be appreciated. That voice chirped insistently that Maya was worth any consequences that may arise. She was a hero, yes, but even she had weaknesses and how would Fiona live with herself if something happened to Maya when she could have  _ prevented  _ it?

"You have to go." Sasha broke into her anxious pacing.

"I have to go?" 

The words felt strange on her tongue and yet, her sister was right, wasn't she? After everything they'd been through Fiona couldn't just sit by and hope for the best when it came to Maya's safety. She had to go to Athenas. Guilt would eat her alive if she didn't. Sasha squeezed her hand encouragingly.

"I  _ have _ to go." Fiona said more firmly. 

____

The closest fast-travel station that could send her to another planet ended up being on the far side of Floodmoor Basin. Her own nerves were far too jittery for her to drive without speeding to an unsafe degree, so Sasha took the wheel. The inky black of night had crept its way down to meet the horizon by the time they reached it. Caravan screeching to a halt, Fiona wasted no time in donning the various bags of essentials she had packed while they drove.

She was halfway out of the door when Sasha grabbed her by the arm. Despite her earlier impatience, Fiona allowed herself to sink into the ensuing embrace. Being attached to the New-U system wasn't foolproof and she wasn't about to skip out on the chance that this would be their last hug. Sasha deserved that, no matter how much she wanted to be going already.

"Be careful." 

"I will." 

The promise tasted a bit sour when Fiona considered the fact that she would gladly throw herself in harm's way for Maya's sake. But she was the only family Sasha had left and the thought of leaving her alone was a desolate one. She couldn't promise to be safe when running into fire, but she could promise to be careful, if nothing else. 

She stepped to the machine, punching in the destination with shaky hands. Fast-travelling remained an odd experience despite the years that Fiona had been using the stations now. Blue light engulfed her vision, so bright that she was forced to screw her eyes shut. Her insides twisted uncomfortably at the sensation of her body being taken apart piece by piece and stitched her back together. It did nothing to help with the nausea her nerves were already causing.

Materializing on Athenas left her insides rolling, Fiona fought to stay on her feet as she stumbled onto sturdy ground once more. The first thing she became aware of was the smell. Unlike Pandora, or even Eden-6, the air she sucked in was fresher than anything she'd experienced before. She could see the signs of fighting along the path and yet the breeze carried only the slightest whiff of smoke. Oh, she liked this planet so far.

On swift feet, she tracked the mayhem left in the wake of Athenas' attackers. By the time Fiona reached the first body splayed across the ground she had her answer.  _ Maliwan _ . Of course it would be a power hungry corporation that disturbed the peacefulness of this planet. There wasn't another living soul around, save for the occasional carrion-eating creature crouched among the wreckage.

Fiona dutifully checked each and every fallen figure, careful that she wasn't going to pass by somebody that knew unawares. Her anxieties began to settle as it became apparent that the overwhelming majority of the dead belonged to Maliwan. A handful of what she assumed to be Athenas' citizens lay among them, but the slaughter appeared to be on the right side of this fight so far. 

It was a long trek through winding streets, every landmark foreign to her. There was a stillness to the air like the calm before the storm. Surely, if she couldn't hear the continued sounds of fighting, that was a good sign? Fiona's thoughts failed to placate her for long. Travelling further into the city brought distant sounds to her ears.

The unmistakable cacophony of guns and grenades. Her pace quickened until Fiona is sprinting down the streets, the sound is so close and yet the streets continue to turn her around further. Before she could figure where the fighting was, a deadly hush fell across the breeze. Her heart stuttered in a panic. Then, like the sun breaking through clouds, cheers began to ring out.

Another few minutes of following the sounds of victory and Fiona found herself on the edge of a long street. Buildings rose up on either side, riddled with bullet holes and scorch marks. People milled about, some of them shouting happily and other grouping together in relief. Fiona trailed around the outside of the congregation. Sharp, green eyes scanned every face for her entire reason for being here. If there was anywhere the Siren would find herself during the fighting, it would be here among what appeared to have been the heaviest hitter.

On the opposite side of the street a gaping hole hung within the cliffside. An aching sort of familiarity pooled in the recesses of her mind as Fiona recognized the odd architecture within. She made a beeline for it, knowing for certain now that that was where she needed to be looking. It wasn't a Vault, her heart knew in some sort of instinct, but the hairs on the back of her neck rose regardless. 

She was scarcely fifteen feet away when a shape came charging out. Despite only seeing her through blurry pixels in the background of Maya's echo, she instantly recognized Ava. The teenager darted passed her with an excited grin. Fiona stared after her for a moment, contemplating whether or not it would be weird to chase the kid down and ask where her mentor was.

"Fiona?" 

The familiar voice made her whip around with enough force that it almost hurt. Before she could even fully lay her eyes on the person moving towards her, Fiona's heart sped up. Maya jogged the rest of the way over to her, her own feet felt frozen to the ground. For a moment the world stood still. 

If Fiona had taken the time to think about what her reunion with Maya would have been like, the first thing she would have thought would be awkward. Instead, the Siren stopped in front of her at a distance far closer than either of them realized. She was vaguely aware of people exiting behind Maya, watching them with a nosiness Fiona had long since associated with Vault Hunters. It was difficult for her to focus on anything except the beaming smile adorning those blue lips.

"What are you doing here?" Maya asked, breathless but not accusing.

"I hadn't heard from you since...you know." Fiona felt her face grow hot, "I got worried."

"You came out of hiding on Eden-6, because you were worried about me?"

After opening and closing her mouth a couple times, she settled for a quick nod. Her mind was a mess of emotions, ranging from the overwhelming relief that Maya was safe to the sudden embarrassment over how those words sounded. Despite how clingy it sounded to her own ears, Maya's cheeks lit up with a pink flush. 

"What about your sister?"

"She's still there. Probably happy to have the caravan to herself for a bit."

The simple conversation while avoiding the obvious fact of what had went on around them was enough to make the both of them snort. Maya reached out and pulled her into a hug and Fiona tried to pour every bit of how much she'd missed the Siren into the action. When she pulled away and glanced away for a moment, she watched the four people standing awkwardly behind them all look away in different directions. Maya followed her gaze and rolled her eyes.

"The newest batch of Vault Hunters, total badasses might I add."

Fiona waved one hand, "Hey, I'm Fiona."

A chorus of names greeted her;  _ Zane, Amara, Fl4k and Moze. _ They were easy enough to remember on their own, but Fiona was already struggling to match the names to the faces.  _ Oops _ . One of them was a Siren, all muscles and glowing tattoos. If she wasn't still nursing the feelings for her previous relationship, Fiona knew this new Siren would have been hard to ignore. 

The bot reminded her a bit of Loader Bot and she decided she liked them best. They had an excitable skag bouncing around their feet, a surprisingly pleasant reminder of home. Before Fiona could make any quick assumptions about the last two, the group of Vault Hunters offered up a haphazard goodbye, tossing the words over their shoulders as they made for the nearest fast-travel station. 

"They're in a hurry. Ava was too." She said thoughtfully, "I take it there's more breathing down your necks than just Maliwan?"

"A whole lot more. I could tell you...but it's a long story, since you've been out of the loop."

"And there isn't time to sit and catch up." Fiona finished easily.

"Not unless you're willing to dip more than your toe in what's going on."

She couldn't tell if the slight edge to Maya's tone was an accusation or simply resignation to the subject. A mix of emotions tumbled around inside her, but Fiona felt strangely centered within them. As dangerous as chasing the Vault of the Traveler had been, it was exhilarating enough to pull her into the lifestyle for a good while. Vault Hunting had been the best part of Fiona's life for years. Maya started to step away, the farewell dying on her lips as Fiona grabbed her hand. 

"What if I am?"

Maya's silver eyes widened, "Fiona, it's seriously a lot. Like way more than either of our run-ins with Vaults were."

"Well, I came this far. Might as well offer what help I can from this point forward. Plus, I think Sasha would kill me if I didn't have at least a little gossip to bring back for her."

___

Stepping onto the Sanctuary III was remarkably different than her first steps on the original Sanctuary. It reminded her vaguely of the ship she'd been on all those years ago, on the way to Helios. That feeling was as comforting in its nostalgia as it was nerve-wracking. Hopefully if there had been any casualties involved, they were long since over and she wouldn't have to experience them. Scooter's sacrifice had been all the space-related death she was willing to handle. 

The ship itself was surprisingly homely, bustling with life and personality. Fiona followed after Maya, feeling like a lost puppy, despite being as new to the surroundings as the Siren was. Maya was a welcome face, an ally they had known about and expected to have join the crew. But her? Fiona's green eyes scanned each person they passed warily. Apparently returning to a life of crime had brought back the unwarranted paranoia of those around her.

Well, maybe not completely unwarranted. Fiona had abandoned the Vault Hunting crowd when these on Pandora had taken a turn for the worst. Would any of them still be holding a grudge over that fact? And what would she say to Lilith? Anxiety bubbled in the pit of her stomach and Fiona began to regret her sudden change of heart.

When they approached Lilith glanced over at them, doing a double take when she spotted Fiona. She finished speaking to the newest Vault Hunters and stepped up to greet Maya. After exchanging a few words, golden eyes looked her up and down like she was eyeing a wary animal. It took a significant amount of effort not to stare at Lilith's starkly blank arm. She'd have to ask Maya about that later.

"Been awhile, killer."

"Yeah." Fiona nodded stiffly before adding, "Better late than never, huh?"

"I certainly won't turn away the help. Just make sure you give fair warning if you're gonna disappear on us again."

Lilith moved away to speak to someone beside a couple flashing screens, but the sting of her thinly-veiled insult. There was something about the red-haired Siren that could make even the most casual phrase feel like fire. Her eyes flickered over to Maya, who gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. Well, at least she hadn't been kicked from the ship.

Once everyone settled down from the mission, the newcomers were delegated various lodgings. Fiona hadn't been sure exactly what to expect on that front. Maya and Ava each had their own rooms, but perhaps when it came to a deserter like her things weren't as generous. She was assigned the bottom of a bunk, tucked off in an abstract corner of the ship. The person who had the one above appeared to like hanging their legs over the side at all hours of the day. 

Fiona didn't fancy the idea of leaving her belongings for anyone to rifle through, opting to carry the bag with her most important possessions on her shoulder. She took to wandering the ship. There were a handful of people Fiona had known from before, so she made a point to say hello to them. The general greetings were pleasant enough. Perhaps things wouldn't be so awkward after all.

As she inspected a machine labelled "Lost Loot", a new contraption that she hadn't heard of before, a hand ghosted over her shoulder. Fiona leapt back on instinct, but softened as she met Maya's amused grin. 

"Neat, huh? I wish there'd been one of these back in the old Sanctuary."

She snorted, "Yeah, I second that."

"So, hey, you wanna come join me in my quarters?"

Fiona froze, throwing a wide-eyed and incredulous glance at the Siren.

"Oh, no no no, that is not what I meant for it to sound like. I just thought I could catch you up on everything that's happened and that, uh...you know we would just talk." Maya rambled, looking thoroughly embarrassed as she waved her hands.

"No, that one was definitely on me for assuming. I would seriously appreciate that, like what's up with Lilith's tattoos?"

"Come on, we can talk as we go."

Maya filled her in on how the Calypso Twins, the ones running the united bandits, were Sirens. The sister in specific was a  _ leech _ Siren, which turned out to be just as bad as it sounded. Losing something so ingrained within your being must have nearly killed Lilith. Fiona didn't feel quite so hurt after hearing that, there was a justifiable reason for the irritability.

And there was a Vault on Promethea, of all places, that they were racing the Calypsos to apparently. She was suddenly rather glad that Rhys had broken up with her sister when he did. Sasha was much safer on Eden-6 than she would have been if she'd remained on Promethea.

All the while during the conversation, the two of them ended up closer and closer together in the room. At some point Fiona had laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling while the sheer bulk of this information settled into her mind. Maya leaned on one arm and motioned animatedly with the other. Her heart beat in time with every motion, reminiscent of that night many years ago when Maya had regaled her with stories of her time Vault hunting. 

With cheeks painted scarlet, Maya's voice trailed off and she looked down at her with a fond smile. Fiona wanted to say something, anything really, but her throat was surprisingly dry. She swallowed heavily as the Siren leant over her. The meeting of their lips was something electric. Her own were far more chapped than she would have liked, but it was hard to focus on that as the motion continued.

Maya pulled away long enough to meet her eyes, waiting for Fiona's nod of approval. As if she would say no after dreaming of this type of reunion for...nearly the entire time they had been apart. She fisted her hands in the cloth of Maya's hood and pulled her closer. Kissing with a ferocity that was uncharacteristic even for her, Fiona couldn't help but smile as she felt the Siren's grin against her skin.

She pulled away to suck in a deep breath, "We should probably make sure no one is going to walk in on...this."

"It's already locked."

Fiona raised her eyebrows with half-lidded eyes.

"I  _ might _ have had an inkling of where I wanted to take things, you know, after we got caught up."

"This probably counts as catching up in a way too."

Maya struggled to hold in a laugh, resulting in an ungraceful snort that only made her all the more endearing.  _ God _ , she had missed this so much. Wrapping an arm around her waist, Fiona pulled them together again so that she could kiss along the length of her neck. The laughter melted into soft, crooning noises. 

Their movements slowed in pace from the earlier kisses, tender and lingering with feelings that had been bottled up for far too long. 

____

It was one, simple task that even the dimmest of Sanctuary's patrons should have been able to do. Watch Ava while Maya went with the Vault Hunters into Promethea's Vault. The teenager had been absolutely livid about being left out of the action, but Fiona understood the logic behind it. The creatures inside were deadly enough to level cities if left unchecked. It was no place for a kid.

Unsurprisingly, Fiona was left behind as well and took it upon herself to check on Ava. She knocked on the door to her room and glanced inside when it slid open further at the touch.  _ Empty _ . No sign of her in Moxxi's or Marcus', nor the cargo bay or any other place the other inhabitants tended to congregate. She asked around, but nobody else had seen Ava or even knew who was supposed to keep an eye on her. A kid  _ known _ for sneaking off and causing problems, yet  _ no one  _ thought to watch her? 

"Lilith, I can't find Ava anywhere." 

The Siren gave her a disinterested glance, "And? She's a brooding teenager, give her some space.

"You're not concerned that she might have followed Maya and the others out to the Vault?" She asked incredulously.

"There are people everywhere, I'd like to see her sneak off of a spaceship like this."

"Nobody else has seen her and nobody has been  _ looking _ after her."

"Look, Fiona, they're about to fight the Vault monster. What Ava is doing on the ship isn't very high on my list of concerns right now."

She followed Lilith's gaze to the large holoscreen projecting the group's progress. The screen flickered with static as the huge arch filled with swirling, purple energy. Heart thumping along with nervous awe, she grit her teeth as the massive creature clawed its way out. She swore she could almost  _ feel _ the ground-shaking roar it bellowed out.

The Vault Hunters leapt into action as a fluid team. Maya worked well alongside them, but after witnessing her fighting style firsthand many times, Fiona could see she was out of place without her own team beside her. The battle crawled along at the pace of a geriatric snail. It was to be expected from situations, however, Vault monsters were built like tanks after all. 

She could hear Maya's voice ring out clearly as the beast went down, a parade of bullets puncturing the air instantly. One of the Vault hunters, Moze perhaps, hopped into a large mech to rain fire on the injured monster. Just as Fiona thought that perhaps the fight would be over quickly and safely, the Vault monster rose again. It leapt through the air with a splitting roar that caused everyone watching to cover their ears.

This repeated another couple of times before they slew the creature for  _ good _ . Fiona let out a relieved breath that she hadn't even realized she had been holding. Judging by the fact that all of the figures were standing, albeit limping along, there weren't any significant wounds. Suddenly movement at the corner of the screen caught her attention.

"No!" She whispered fiercely, even before her eyes confirmed who it was.

Ava darted over to the victorious Vault Hunters, bouncing with excitement that was apparent even from where they were watching. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Lilith fold her arms. Well, she might not admit that Fiona had been correct in her worries, but it was a slight acknowledgment. Thankfully Ava had been smart enough to wait until  _ after _ the Vault monster was dead to come out.

They couldn't hear what was being said, but it wasn't hard to imagine. Maya rounded on her apprentice with vivid anger while the others moved off to collect their loot. With the worst part over, Fiona considered leaving to go wait for them to return to the ship. Instead something kept her rooted to the spot. Her eyes traced the screen until the Vault Hunters returned.

"What the…?" 

Lilith's startled voice cut through the air just as she finally decided to turn away. Spinning around, Fiona looked up at the screen with mounting horror. Two shapes with the telltale tattoos of Sirens. She hadn't seen the dreaded Calypso twins, but there was no mistaking the imposing figures that approached. Lilith smacked the control panels in frustration, unable to hear what was being said.

"They're going to need help, you should send-" Fiona tried to in.

Lilith growled, "Oh, yes, and who do you suppose we send down there?"

"Anyone! Hell, let me go down there."

The only response she got was a loud scoff. Fiona turned to glare at Lilith, but stopped short as she noticed her white-knuckle grip. Tyreen and Troy were dangerous, they had taken Lilith's siren powers after all. The gruff attitude was understandable coming from a general who was forced to watch her friends take on such foes without her. Dread curled in her throat,  _ what if Maya loses her powers to them too? _

Suddenly there was movement on the screen, both of them turning swiftly to see. Ava was bouncing dangerously close to the twins, no doubt taunting them. As much as it pained Fiona to see, she couldn't blame the stubborn kid for mouthing off in the face of danger. It was something she could have seen Sasha doing at the same age.

In a matter of seconds things devolved into the worst case scenario. For Fiona everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion, painstakingly dragging her heart up through her throat. Tyreen grabbed ahold of Ava by the neck and the entire room gasped in unison. Her anxiously repeated  _ oh no _ 's were drowned out by the sound of Lilith slamming her hands on something again.

Even from a distance the pixels easily displayed Maya's raw, protective rage as she phaselocked Troy. For a moment it really seemed that the bargaining chip would be enough to let everyone walk away unscathed. Instead Maya's eyes widened, energy swirling from where the two tattooed arms met. 

Just a few short minutes and Fiona's heart crumbled into dust alongside the image on the screen. Her heartbeat continued to rise in her throat until she was struggling to breathe at all. It looked like a horribly painful way to go. More time crept by and the fear only grew, leaving her dizzy enough that she thought she might pass out.

"Lilith, why isn't she respawning?"

The anger was gone from those golden eyes, replaced with a wide-eyed panic, "I don't know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I doubt I'm gonna reach my goal by the end of Novemeber, but hey I've almost done it :') kinda ran myself dry with social interactions after spending Thanksgiving with family, so I need to recover before I'll have the motive to finish this last chapter. Soon though, we're almost there!


	6. find your fathers and your mothers

Fiona had given up on trying to make it to the small gathering of Crimson raiders without crying. Even as she stood among them for the eulogy hot, angry tears slid down her cheeks. For a moment it was easy to give in to the unfettered rage of what was happening. Maya was a hero! She deserved better than a functionally silent commander and stumbled over words. 

The unhappiness melted away once she wiped her eyes and took better stock of the situation. 

Death was something prevalent within all of their lives, a guarantee when you're at war. At the very least it wasn't a surprise. Upon first glance, apathy oozed from the situation. It dropped from their faces in the form of exhausted tears. Nobody was prepared to speak the words needed for the death of an associate, a  _ friend _ . But it wasn't apathy. The hands that shook weren't bored, the throats were closed not wordless. Fiona couldn't blame the lack of people stepping forward to speak, she remained rooted to the spot after all.

The single voice that stumbled and crashed its way through sentence after awkward sentence should have been irritating. No, it should have been infuriating. Fiona stared at Tannis as though she could look right through her. The only thing she could muster up now was pity, raw and painful, but not laced with malice.

Every word the scientist spoke was aimed at Lilith, eyes glued to their commander like a lifeline. Fiona had a feeling that if Tannis tried to focus on anyone else while she spoke the end result would involve a startling amount of blood. The effort was admirable coming from her, really. Would Tannis have tried so hard if it had been someone else to die? She couldn't say for sure, but the thought of this spectacle being for Maya and _just_ for Maya eased the grief for a moment.

Her eyes shifted, appraising the commander with a tired sort of curiosity. Why not speak for one of the few people in the world who understood the weight that came with being a Siren? Maya had mentioned that sometimes having Lilith to relate to her made them feel like sisters, like the family she hadn't gotten at the abbey. It was easy to throw the blame at Lilith's feet. Why hadn't she done more? Why wasn't she talking now? Did she care  _ at all _ ?

Of course she did. Grief could be enveloping when left unchecked, swallowing one in great chunks like a ravenous beast. Fiona couldn't claim to know her well, they'd never been anything more than cordial to each other. But reading people was a pinnacle part of who she was. When you skimmed the surface Lilith was volatile, she was fire. Perhaps the Firehawk would have spit venom at Maya's murder and hunted the perpetrators without mercy for taking another one of her friends.

But being the Firehawk and being the leader the Crimson Raiders needed were two very different jobs. The transition from an unstoppable force to the tamed fire that was needed to make sound decisions couldn't have been easy. To still be mourning the loss of that integral strength, unable to throw yourself on the frontlines anymore, while this trusted friend of yours still could. If Fiona had to make a guess, she would say Lilith was barely holding it together. The last thing the Raiders needed was to see her break down. She had to be strong, even if that meant barely speaking a word. 

Regarding the two of them through this lens helped to melt away the freezing anger in her heart. They were hurting too, Lilith probably blamed herself for letting Maya die. The soft jokes to one another were a coping mechanism rather than a slight. Fiona was enough of an adult to recognize that nuances of the situation, but there was someone there who wasn't.

Ava spit venom at Lilith, at Tannis, at anyone and everyone who wasn't hurting as plainly as she was. Being young made emotions that much more vivid. To have lost so much at such a young age and to find solace in a mentor figure who seemed infallible, only to lose her right before your eyes? It couldn't be anything less than crushing. When she stormed off, the rest of the people began to disperse as well.

Lilith made a point to step over to the Vault Hunters standing beside Fiona. The Siren, Amara if she remembered correctly, offered a few soft condolences. She looked between the four of them with exhausted, golden eyes.

"Would one of you mind checking on her? I don't think she'd appreciate hearing from me right now."

Fiona cut into the conversation before any of them could reply, "Wo- can I do it?"

In an instant the Vault Hunters excused themselves. They probably relished being saved from the conversation, their line of work wasn't the greatest for fostering empathetic speakers. Lilith dragged her gaze over to Fiona, in what she hoped was a tired action rather than an unwilling one.

"You sure? I mean, I know you're good with words so I won't complain, but-"

"I want to," Fiona insisted, "and not just because I'll know what she needs to hear."

A debate she wasn't privy to waged behind Lilith's sharp eyes. She looked away for a moment before reaching out to give Fiona's shoulder a gentle squeeze. Surprisingly enough, she didn't flinch at the action, the corners of her mouthful twisting gratefully. 

"We've never been friends and I doubt we're going to start now...but if you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me."

Fiona nodded slowly, confusion spinning for just a few heartbeats, before something tugged at the back of her mind. A memory of a Maya recounting more tales from her days running from Handsome Jack. The man who led the Crimson Raiders before Lilith had been her on-again, off-again boyfriend and he had been killed in front of her. No, she and Lilith would probably never be the best of friends, but now they had a similar tragedy in common. She appreciated the words and returned the gesture by squeezing Lilith's hand. 

It took her close to a minute to work up the nerve to knock on Ava's door. Would she even be receptive to comfort at the moment? Fiona could remember being an angry, hurting teen and she couldn't imagine how she would have reacted to pity had the roles been reversed. Eventually she did knock, waiting nervously for the action to go unanswered. Instead, the door opened just a crack.

"If Lilith sent you, then you might as well turn around."

"Well, she did ask someone else to check on you, but I offered to go instead. Does that count?"

Ava opened the door enough to stick her head out, hastily wiped away tears still streaked across her cheeks. The frown she wore discouraged any more smart remarks Fiona might have planned.

"Look, kid, she's just worried about you. I think a lot of people are."

She scoffed, "Nobody here would give two shits about me if I wasn't Maya's apprentice."

"Maybe not, but isn't any amount of thought good during times like this?"

"No. Maya's dead, DEAD, and all you or Lilith or anyone else can think to do is make  _ jokes _ ."

"To be fair, most of us are from Pandora and that's the normal response to death. It's easier to hide your hurt under humor than to acknowledge it."

"Well, that's stupid. She deserves better than your half-assed jokes."

"I think she would have laughed at Tannis' speech too. Maya just had that sense of humor, maybe it was a Siren thing."

"What do _you_ know about her, huh?" Ava snarled suddenly, shoving her back, "She was _my_ _mentor._ All you were was something to pass the time, she'd have gotten bored of you. Talking over the echo sometimes doesn't make you the expert on her."

She recoiled from the action, painful tears stinging in the corners of her eyes. It took a few careful breaths before Fiona could look at Ava again. At least the kid had the good grace to look a little ashamed of the outburst.

"Well, maybe you have a point, if Maya never mentioned our past." She admitted, the words thick and hard to enunciate.

Part of her wanted to give up, to retreat with her tail between her legs, because really  _ what _ had she been thinking when she offered to do this? Fiona didn't know the kid at all, unless you counted the many late-night conversations with Maya. And obviously Maya hadn't spoken about  _ her _ to Ava at all. It had been stupid to think the two of them could bond together through a difficult time like this. 

"What do you mean, your  _ past _ ?" Ava asked, her words far more cautious and quiet than before.

So, Fiona told her. About how they'd met, the years they'd been together, how happy they'd been. Ava let her into the room as she spoke, sinking onto the bed with curious eyes as Fiona leaned against the table. She talked about Sanctuary falling and how the two of them had fought. About how Maya always knew exactly how to be the hero, while Fiona ran like the coward she had always been. When she sank to the ground, sobbing like her life depended on it, Ava moved to curl up beside her.

They told stories about Maya, cried their hearts out together. It was cold, and painful, but they weren't alone through it. Not anymore.

___

The Crimson Raiders continued fighting, the Vault Hunters took the fight to the Calypso twins. Life marched on whether Fiona felt like it was or not. She helped around Sanctuary III, but couldn't find it in herself to go out on the frontlines. Perhaps Maya would forgive her for putting off that lesson, for staying the coward on the ship. 

She watched Ava go out with the others when they went after Troy. There was as much pride as there was fear over the decision to include her, terrified that the legacy Maya wanted to leave behind would perish just as easily as she had. But Ava didn't die. When Troy lay dead on the ground, she inherited Maya's powers as she rightfully should have. 

The Vault hunters went on to kill Tyreen and just like that the fighting was over. The Crimson Raiders had won, Lilith had sacrificed herself. For Fiona it was a bittersweet ending, her smile laced with tears. When Ava came up to her after everything was said and done, suggesting the two of them pay a visit to Athenas before the Raiders went off on their next adventure, Fiona didn't say no even if she wanted to. She wasn't going to run this time.

___

Communications with the planet of Athenas had been few and far between after they'd left. The fighting with Maliwan left the town trashed, with few viable ways to send messages unless it was an emergency. None of the people there had any idea how to contact Sanctuary III directly. Really, they were lucky that Maliwan has been dealt with thoroughly enough that they hadn’t needed immediate help regardless.

As such, Ava and Fiona had expected many things upon landing on the planet again. What they didn’t expect was for the monks to excitedly rush them to a ramshackle medical outfit within an abandoned building. And they certainly hadn’t expected to look into the cot they’d been led to and see a shock of vivid, aqua hair between white bandages. 

“Took you long enough.” Maya rasped, while they stared with gaping mouths.

Ava threw herself into the cot and wrapped her arms around the Siren, despite the pained insistence that she be more careful. Fiona just crouched beside them, tears streaming down her face at a speed that didn’t seem to be letting up any time soon. The feeling of them dripping onto her arms had a grounding affect. It couldn't be real and yet there Maya was.

"How?" She managed to choke out after a moment.

"I don't know exactly." Maya cleared her throat with a wince, "One minute I was experiencing the most excruciating pain I could ever imagine, it was a hundred times worse than just respawning. Everything was dark for awhile. I'm not sure how long it was exactly, days possibly, but when I came to I was here."

"B-but...the New-U sends you to the nearest station when you respawn." Fiona stammered.

"Like I said, I'm not sure  _ why _ it sent me here. You know I always thought you were exaggerating when you would talk about the New-U's faulty science and how you could spawn in still injured. I'd never seen it happen before, but the monks said when the found me I was covered in blood and half-dead. Apparently there was a lot of internal damage and I died again. When I respawned that time I was still here, still weak and coughing up blood."

If the situation had been different, Fiona might have been intrigued by the turn of events. Someone's death being so destructive that the New-U sent them to another planet and took several tries to spawn them in healed enough to live. Even more shocking was the fact that Maya hadn't gotten her tattoos or powers back. They made no attempt to move from Ava to their previous owner, as they had when Troy died. Which meant that Maya wasn't a Siren anymore.

But she couldn't find it in herself to care about the scientific reasons for why things had happened the way they had. Instead Fiona wiped pathetically at her cheeks and she  _ laughed _ . Happiness and relief bubbled from within her until there was no hope of keeping it within her, not that she even wanted to. She kicked off her boots, crawling into the cot with Maya and Ava as one started laughing too and the other made half-hearted complaints. Fiona wrapped one arm around Maya, moving to kiss her forehead, before grabbing Ava with the other and hugging them. 

It was a moment she hoped to remember for the rest of her life, "I love you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, this labor of love is finished after a month! I originally intended to have more of this chapter mention how Fiona/Maya function as a family with Ava, but in the end I decided I liked it being up in the air. Sort of an ending where you can interpret what happens next yourself :3
> 
> The title for the fic and the chapters are all from "Call Them Brothers" by Regina Spektor!

**Author's Note:**

> Woo! So as stated, I'm working on this for NaNoWriMo and the goal is to reach at least 25k words by the end of it. All comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!
> 
> If you wish to contact me outside of here, my borderlands blog on tumblr is mionaholic and my main blog is shinysurfinraichu! :) as always I hope you all have a wonderful day/night!!!


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